Joseph Giancarli

Marketing your home using the internet is both an art form and a way to offer information to prospective buyers. But many sellers and realtors underutilize the opportunities offered by this exciting medium. Here are some tips you should consider, and make sure your realtor offers in her or his marketing plan. These suggestions are as good for Mercer County real estate as other parts of the country.

1. Your online presence is just as important as curb appeal - there is only one chance to make a good first impression. Your goal is to make the potential buyer want to know more, to see inside the home.

2. Target your buyer. Not everyone will want or like your home, and it won't fit the needs of every buyer. What's special about your home that you can offer a buyer? How will the neighborhood affect a buyer, for instance, is it age-restricted or back to an elementary school?

3. Write the description focusing on those key points you feel showcase the home, and will bring the buyer who will be most interested. Number of bedrooms, baths, age, square feet - these are details. Add to them emotional appeal. You are selling a life in a new home, not just numbers.

4. The importance of photos cannot be overemphasized. Not only do you want lots of photos online, you want photos of the neighborhood, schools, parks - all the amenities which make your location saleable. Too often sellers and realtors both think they are marketing to someone they see at the grocery or at church, not to a buyer relocating from Taiwan or France, or even Alabama. They don't know what the trees look like in fall, or the kids playing ball in Mercer Park - show them what they can experience if they live in your home.

5. More on photos - show inside and outside, and make sure you clean and clean again before they are taken. Use lighting well - no dark rooms - and highlight with flowers, pillows, rugs to make the rooms look inviting. Don't forget to shoot the landscaping, outdoor living areas like patio or porch, and of course the fireplace. Think of your favorite spots - they probably will appeal to buyers too.

6. Sell the location, whether it is low maintenance fees or proximity to schools, retail centers, parks - whatever makes your address special. Again, buyers from outside your local area will have no idea what is close to your home.

The internet presents great opportunities to market everything from soup to nuts to houses, so be inventive and creative when you decide to sell your home online. Contact me for ideas. I've lived in Mercer County all my life, so know the neighborhoods and can help you market your property to the right buyers, using the internet as effectively as possible.

Here are the real estate sales in August for the various townships and boroughs in Mercer County, for single family homes. There are a lot of areas in Mercer County, so the easiest way to represent all the homes sold is by place. Contact me for details of any Mercer County or Hamilton, New Jersey neighborhood real estate activity.

Hamilton Township
69 homes sold in August, with a low of $30,000 and a high of $422,500. This compares to 54 sales in the same period last year, ranging from $135,000 to $540,000. These results were slightly higher than July, 2009, with 64 sales.

East Windsor Township
16 homes sold, with a low of $305,000 and a high of $560,000. This compares to 10 sales in August, 2008, with a range of $305,000 to $550,000. 15 homes sold in July, 2009,

Robbinsville Township
8 homes sold in August, from $420,000 to $690,850. This compares to 13 sales in August last year, ranging from $325,000 to $685,000. 9 homes sold in July, 2009.

West Windsor Township
33 homes closed in August this year, from $278,000 to $955,000. This compares to 35 sales in August, 2008, ranging from $280,000 to $999,999. 28 sales closed in July, 2009.

Hopewell Borough & Township
13 homes sold, from $203,000 to $1,220,000. This compares to 18 last year, from $320,000 to $1,500,000. 19 sales closed in July, 2009.

Princeton Borough & Township
23 homes sold, from $375,000 to $2,365,000. This compares to 22 last year, from $541,000 to $2,925,000. 28 homes sold in July, 2009.

Ewing Township
17 homes sold, from $105,000 to $317,500. This compares to 26 last year, from $101,900 to $375,000. 16 homes sold in July, 2009.

Hightstown Borough
3 homes sold, from $138,500 to $410,000. This compares to 1 sale last August, $263,500. 4 homes sold in July, 2009.

Lawrence Township
25 homes sold, from $249,000 to $850,000. This compares to 12 last year, from $192,000 to $550,000. 19 homes sold in July, 2009.

Pennington Borough
1 home sold, $142,000. This compares to 2 sales last year, $382,500 and $530,000. 5 homes sold in July, 2009.

Trenton City
8 homes sold, from $33,000 to $209,000. This compares to 6 sales last year, from $60,000 to $324,750. 7 homes sold in July, 2009.

Mercer County
216 homes sold in August compared to 199 last year, compared to 214 in July.

Summary: the market is very controlled by location. Generally fewer homes have sold this year, and at lower prices. It is still a strong Buyer's Market.

The Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange, founded by Princeton Borough resident Russ White, in just a few months has become wildly successful. They have sold 418 bikes to date and the exchange is now the largest used bike seller in the area. This raised $28,000 total, $24,000 for the Boys & Girls Club.

White, officially retired, combined his entrepreneurial skills and business management experience to create the venture. Several factors led to his decision: a lack of places in the area to buy and sell used bikes; a physical storefront to serve the public better than Craigslist; the success of the TREK bike company with the same idea in Madison, WI.

The TREK store paid employees and subsidized the rent. But White wanted a totally volunteer/charitable organization. He approached David Anderson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton & Mercer County, and they agreed for the exchange to be a part of the Boys & Girls Club.

As reported by CentralJersey.com, "Mr. White then approached the Princeton Freewheelers and soon had more than two dozen volunteers to do everything from collect, repair and sell bikes to manage the operation. Another six or seven non-Princeton Freewheelers volunteers have signed on, too, after seeing what the bike exchange does.

"'I started pounding the pavement on Route 1 to find donated space. I got rejected and rejected and rejected until I came upon Levin Management,' Mr. White said.

"Levin Management Corp. agreed to donate a large space at Capitol Plaza Shopping Center in Ewing, so we opened up on May 1st.'"

The enterprise has been wildly successful. Owners can donate bikes they no longer want at nearly every area bike store, plus a few other locations. Several police departments - including Trenton's, Ewing's and Lawrence's - let the exchange collect abandoned and unclaimed bicycles, and Princeton University allowed it to collect abandoned bikes around its campus. Sept. 25, as part of its bike safety day, Princeton University is going to hold a bike drive for the exchange. White has contacted West Windsor Bicycle & Pedestrian Alliance about working with the exchange.

As of now, the bike exchange has an inventory of about 200 bikes for sale at the Capital Plaza store, all for $65 or less. The Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange is now self-sustaining and runs itself, making money for the Boys and Girls Club.

Details:

The Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange is located at Capitol Plaza Shopping Center, 1500 North Olden Avenue, Ewing, NJ 08638. The exchange is open Thursdays 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (609) 571-9476, email info@BikeExchangeNJ.org or go to the exchange Web site at www.bikeexchangenj.org.

What a nice feel-good story this is - many thanks to Russ White for his efforts on behalf of the biking community and the Boys and Girls Club. This is a great example of the sense of pride and community we feel here in Mercer County, New Jersey. Contact me for a Relocation Package or real estate information on our many towns and boroughs.

The builder of Dogwood Meadows, a 10-unit new home development in Hamilton Township, is pleased to announce a special Buyer Incentive.

For an accepted contract, Edward Bucci Custom Builders, will give a FREE FINISHED BASEMENT on selected homesites and models ONLY until April 30, 2009 - yes, GIVE a FREE basement! This is a $25,800 value!

Dogwood Meadows offers 5 models from 2,000 - 3,000 sq ft, from $419,900, 3-5 bedrooms. Think of the possibilities with all that extra heated square footage (about 800 sq ft +): recreation room, guest suite, family room, home theater room, bedrooms, & more.

Joe Giancarli is the Exclusive Agent for Dogwood Meadows. Contact Joe to see these homes, and visit the Dogwood Meadows web site to request floor plans and look at the models.

If you are thinking of BUYING NEW, consider Dogwood Meadows.

Joseph Giancarli, Sales Associate
jgiancarli@remax.net
www.dogwoodmeadowsnewhomes.com
www.njhomesource.net
www.njhomesource.com
RE/MAX Tri County
609-587-9300 ext. 403 Office
609-658-2612 Cell