Scott Gleason, Westfield NJ Specialist

The beginning of 2012 has been very bullish, with sales almost as frequent as houses coming into market and keeping inventory lean. Click Pictures for More Images if Available

Recently I offered to show a property being "sold by owner." I sent the seller a one-showing agreement providing for a 4% fee if successful.
My seller asked a typical question with an interesting twist:
“Thanks for the interest. Yes, the renovated unit is still available. Question: my impression of RE/MAX is a 2.5% commission. Why is yours 4%?”

To address the typical part first, sellers believe "if I did list my property, and you brought the buyer, you'd get 2.5% or 3%, so why are you expecting more in this case?"
The reason, dear seller, is that for 30,60,90 days from contract to closing, I will have to assume the vast majority of duties of the listing agent and selling agent:
• Double the care it takes to be fair to all parties in a naturally adversarial situation.
• Double the risk of being sued for something or nothing
• Double the number of lawyers and paralegals with whom to interface
• Double the questions from the principals to the transaction
• Double the moving parts (inspection repairs to adjudicate and facilitate, appraisers to service with supportive comps, town officials to schedule/admit are just the tip of an iceberg.
• Half the collateral value of the business. Marketing a house for sale produces great value to an agent’s bottom line even before it sells. Listed inventory is seen by hundreds of thousands of buyer’s online, with my contact information attached. Neighbors see my marketing efforts and successes, and some remember when they choose to sell their houses. Open houses introduce my to even more buyers. Selling a FSBO is a relatively secret accomplishment.
• Double the eggs in one basket. Although I enjoy a hugely exceptional high track record of bringing contracts all the way to the closing table, many of my colleagues are experiencing a plague of transactions falling through, usually after investing double the time and passion in the doomed deals as they have on the winners. The why’s of that are fodder for another post. . .

As I enumerate, I am questioning why I discounted so much! I earn 3% and up for representing just the seller, and about 40% of the sellers in our market offer 3% to repesent just the buyer, with their own agent handling a healthy share of the above tasks and risks.
I do it because in my listing agreements I do offer some discount for the rare events of single agent sales, and because I appreciate that it's a big adjustment for a seller who thought they would sell their property without paying a professional to connect the dots, to accommodate the idea of 0% popping up to 6 or 7%. So I consider it a win-win.

Next visit I'll address the interesting twist: the idea that RE/MAX agents charge alike, and discount.

Scott Gleason is a Westfield NJ resident and Realtor, expert in Luxury Home Marketing and local real estate investing. To learn about all things Westfield NJ, visit www.LuxuryHomesNJ.com. For superior results and a smooth experience selling or buying property in and around Westfield NJ, call Scott at 908-698-2630.

Years ago before I was a Realtor, searching for a first home in Metuchen NJ, the geography of Metuchen Edison was succinctly explained by our agent: Edison is the donut, and Metuchen is the hole in the donut. In fact, Metuchen, the "main street community" built up around the train station, seceded from the larger surrounding township at the turn of the century when the farmers didn't want to be taxed to support electrification etc. of the downtown. Eventually, Metuchen evolved into a quaint boro of about 13,000 souls and Edison became a huge sprawling town aspiring to be a city, of 100,000. But it take both to comprise the whole donut, so I report these data on one chart.

Westfield NJ homes for sale span a well varied price range and a wide selection of neighborhoods. One of the "brand name neighborhoods" is The Gardens. Westfield NJ home buyers looking for capacious, traditional colonials and tudors in elegantly spaced, curving avenues with mature trees and well tended landscaping, will find plendy to like here.

The Gardens is also a popular trade up destination among current Westfield homeowners seeking more house at a prestigious address.

To search The Gardens, and other branded neighborhoods, as well as grade school searches, it's as easy as Clicking Here.

Scott Gleason is a Westfield NJ resident and Realtor, expert in Luxury Home Marketing and local real estate investing. To learn all about all things Westfield NJ, visit www.LuxuryHomesNJ.com

For superior results and a smooth experience selling or buying property in and around Westfield NJ, call Scott at 908-698-2630.

New Jersey Monthly Magazine Names Westfield the best medium-sized town (population 30,000-69,999) in N.J.
In addition to grabbing #1 ranking in the population 30,000-69,999 group, Westfield took #12 in the list of the Garden State’s 566 municipalities.

“The municipalities that performed best in this year’s rankings were generally the more affluent towns of northern and central New Jersey,” says New Jersey Monthly Editor Ken Schlager. “In difficult economic times, these towns tend to have the resources needed to hold the line on property tax increases, maintain school performance and protect their citizens against crime. This in turn makes the towns more desirable to homebuyers, thus boosting home values.”

The 2011 list of New Jersey’s Top 100 Towns was compiled by independent research firm Leflein Associates, of Ringwood. In creating the rankings, the researchers considered five categories best representing the quality of life in New Jersey’s 566 municipalities: property taxes; home values; crime rate; school performance; and a lifestyle factor based on proximity to services, entertainment and dining, as well as commute time.

These are among the factors my family and about 30,000 other souls are grateful to live in Westfield NJ. And it does show in the exceptional value strength and viablility of Westfield NJ homes for sale. I should add the elan and dedication of our teachers and the chic blend of local and national shopping and eating experiences in our notable downtown.

“The 100 Top Towns” are featured in the September issue of New Jersey Monthly, available on newsstands on 30 Aug 2011.

Story based on reporting in the Westfield Leader, our town paper.

Scott Gleason is a Westfield NJ resident and Realtor, expert in Luxury Home Marketing and local real estate investing. To learn all about all things Westfield NJ, visit www.LuxuryHomesNJ.com

For superior results and a smooth experience selling or buying property in and around Westfield NJ, call Scott at 908-698-2630.