Chris Bezaire Cape May Real Estate Agent

Dear Mr and Mrs. Listing Agent,

STOP MAKING MY BUYERS PUT IN LOW-BALL OFFERS!!! How is it your fault you ask? Well let's see, all of my clients get my newsletter every month that shows what has sold in my market because I want them to be informed and educated when ready to put in an offer. And guess what? They just saw the property that you had listed for $4,950,000 just sold for $3,000,000. And they also saw that the property you had listed for $725,000 sold for $410,000.

So of course when they are out with me and see a property listed for $500,000 they now think a starting offer of $250,000 isn't unreasonable based on what has sold. So please do me a favor; either educate yourself and stop taking overpriced listings only to sell them in house at a deep discount (not to mention doing your sellers a disservice by not allowing them to get potential offers that would be higher because people are scared of the listing price) or after realizing a list price is too high, admit the mistake and lower the price so your sellers get what they deserve!

And please help STOP MAKING MY BUYERS PUT IN LOW OFFERS!

In case you were wondering, Hurricane Irene came and went here in Cape May with minimal dammage. During the storm I stayed on the island and kept all of my owners and tenants updated. This is the footage of the Aftermath of Hurricane Irene. If you would like to see all of my video updates during Irene just click here.

Here is the video that I provide all of my clients with for the Cape May New Jersey area. This video includes a little info about what is going on in town as well as a slide show at the end of all the properties sold in the previous month. I have also included a link below to a spreadsheet that includes the listing price, sold price, and days on market for the sold properties. If you would like to receive this on a regular basis just join my mailing list below.

Cape May Area Sold Properties Spreadsheet

I work in a seaside resort, actually the Nation's Oldest Seaside Resort: Cape May, NJ. A lot of my buyers and sellers are involved in Condo Complexes. There are two main reasons some people here prefer condos:

1) It is a little more affordable and hassle free to own a condo as a second home or vacation property as opposed to a single family,

2) The way Cape May is situated, unless you want to spend $2 Million or more on a Big Beach Front home, the only other Beach Front option is a condo.

That being said, most complexes have average turnover and even though some value has been lost since the height of the market in 2006, they are still selling........except one.

I represent sellers in the Sandpiper Beach Club. This complex was completely renovated in 2006 and is one of the best run complexes in Cape May. These 1 and 2 bedroom Units have Ocean Views, top of the line finishes, and great amenities such as a pool, and fitness center.

Sounds great right? Well the problem is that most of the people in the Complex bought in the height of the Real Estate Boom and had no intention of holding on to the Units Long Term. Now they have to realize that they will probably have to take a 20% hit on that "great investment" they had. But even the owners who have come to realize that still cannot sell their units, why?

The complex has gotten an undeserved bad rep.

1) The complex is run as a "Condo-Tel" which some of you will say is the start of the bad rep. But this complex has very little restrictions and is run better than most Hotels.

2) The management fee scares people away. The complex charges 42% of all rentals.

So here is the problem I have. In one case I have alone bedroom unit in the Upper $400,000 range. That unit brought home $16,500 AFTER MANAGEMENT CHARGES. Yet people say that it is priced too high because of their "perception" that the fees kill your income potential.

Really?????? Then why did another unit in a complex 6 blocks off the beach, in an older building, with half that income just sell for $480,000?

I'm stumped and am determined to change the perception about this complex. Real Estate is an emotional decision sometimes and as a Realtor we are supposed to be able to keep emotions out of it. This is a case where I think the Realtors are the ones who have allowed emotions to cloud their judgment and I am going to make sure that my clients get a far shake.

Cape May, NJ Sold Properties for the Month of January 2011

Every month I do a quick video overview of the previous months Sold properties in the Area and then a slide show to let people see what has sold. In addition to the Video I provide a report for people who are more inclined to look at the numbers.

You can access my Cape May Market Reports and also view all my Cape May Market Videos. All of my clients also get weekly and monthly market updates via email with sold properties and New and Price Reduced properties so they can keep up with the market without doing a lot of work.

So if you or someone you know would like to recieve these emails make sure to sign up.

I hope you enjoy the video.