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Ridgewood, NJ

URGENCY, stolen from Real Estate!

Bergen County Realtor, Sal Poliandro, CDPE, SRES, ePRO, Short Sale Specialist: Real Estate Agent in Ridgewood, NJ

Urgency makes people buy and sell Real Estate? Without urgency there is no market. Urgency is what had been missing for almost a year. Our government has been trying to stimulate the Real Estate market for years. The 2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit did just that. It stimulated the Real Estate market by creating a sense of urgency for First Time Home Buyers. An incentive would be given for getting off the fence and getting into their first home. The benefit of the tax credit (to the housing market) was that the home had to close title by November 30, 2009 to qualify.

Urgency was created! Not only do you have to purchase a home to receive the credit, you have a certain time frame. The last week of October, I received no less than a dozen phone calls from people who had never purchased a home, but now wanted to get in on this government program. Not everyone realizes that you can't purchase a home in the same timeframe that you can purchase a car. Cars and homes are not the same, this leads us to our next point.

Is it wrong to believe that all good things come to an end? Cash for Clunkers originally was originally a $1 billion dollar idea that became $3 billion. Has anyone else realized that Cash for Clunkers was a temporary way to prop up sales for the auto industry? The effects of that program will be seen in the coming months of January and February when car sales will be terrible.

Real Estate has been missing urgency for the most part since September of 2008. The stock market took a beating because of the failure of large financial institutions that were leveraged in subprime loans and credit default swaps. The week beginning October 6, 2008 saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop over 1,874 points or 18%. People were starting to feel the pressure. If that wasn't enough, we had a Presidential election looming. More questions about who was going to lead our country, more uncertainty. Once the election was settled, there was the waiting until the inauguration and then the questions arose about the stimulus plan.

There was no urgency for anyone to buy and sell for almost six months. On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. By March of 2009, people were not as fearful as they had been in October of the previous year. At that point the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit began to create urgency for people. First Time Home Buyers had the first eleven months of 2009 to close on a home. As November 30th approaches, people should be feeling some anxiety about waiting until the last minute. Everyone who has been paying attention knows that November 30, 2009 is the deadline. People felt the need to do something so they wouldn't miss out.

Now, Urgency has been stolen! This past week Congress has been talking about extending the tax credit. People have been calling me, telling me that they extended the tax credit. Unfortunately, at press time for this article, there is nothing official, just rampant speculation. However, all this speculation is how urgency has been stolen. People in the marketplace are beginning to feel that all good things will last forever. Good things never expire and the house that they want to buy will be there three months from now. Buyers feel that they can pay less for the house in the future and still receive their tax credit. Buyers once again feel like they can have their cake and eat it too.

The ideal situation would have been to let this tax credit expire. In January of next year, Congress could have come in and saved the day. January is typically a slow month in Real Estate and the talk about a new tax credit would be welcome news. Instead, we are just prolonging the cycle that we are currently in.

Ridgewood Restaurant Recognized for Best Thai Food

Aloysius Donohue -  Ridgewood Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Ridgewood, NJ

Ridge Thai Awarded "Best in Bergen County" by 201 Magazine

Ridgewood Thai's Website

Ridge Thai's Website (Ridgewood, NJ)

According to 201 Magazine Ridge Thai nudged out another Ridgewood Restaurant for first place on this year's list. Taste of Thai, in Ridgewood, was the category's runner up.

Ridge Thai serves traditional Thai Dishes, in large portions, at its 24 seat establishment located at 50 Chestnut Street near the Ridgewood Train Station. One local resident quoted in the 201 Article describes it as "small, inmate" while another says "The staff is accommodating, to the point of being sweet without being sugary. The spices are real and delicious. When I wipe the back of my neck and back of my head and they are wet with perspiration, but my mouth and throat are not burning in the least, I know I'm enjoying the best Thai food."

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Ridgewood Restaurant Recognized for Best Thai Food

Ridgewood Home Sales - Strong Late Summer/Early Fall

Aloysius Donohue -  Ridgewood Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Ridgewood, NJ

48 Ridgewood Homes Sold in the August 15th - October 9th Time Period

The image above probably does not fit with the title of this post . However, I thought it captured how I have felt over the past couple of months which is good news specifically for for me - and for Ridgewood Real Estate in general. My goal is to post a Ridgewood Real Estate report on a weekly basis. However, you will notice that the time period covered here is 2 months. The reason for the huge time lapse from the last report, to this one, is that Ridgewood Home sales have been very hot and there has literally been zero time to write this weekly report. I have been extremely busy as an individual agent and my entire firm (Marron Gildea & Donohue) has experienced the same surge in activity and I am hearing the same from Realtors at other local firms.

This is good news for agents but it is also good news for Ridgewood Homeowners as well. We are seeing more homes with multiple offers and some homes are selling very quickly. These local indicators coupled with the positive news on the national real estate market seem to indicate that we have found a bottom and may have already started to turn back up.

Ridgewood Real Estate Round-Up:August 15th - October 9th

  • 59 Ridgewood Homes were Listed in this time period.
  • 44 Ridgewood Homes went Under Contract in this time period.
  • 48 Ridgewood Homes were Sold in this time period.
  • Click Here for a link to the detailed information on all of the Ridgewood Homes listed above.

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    The properties in this blog post were listed and sold by various participants of the NJMLS based on information from the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service, Inc. for the period of August 15th through October 9th 2009.

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    About Al Donohue

    Al Donohue heads up Marron Gildea & Donohue's Ridgewood office and is one of the top agents in Bergen County.

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    Al attributes much of his success to lessons learned during his years as a top sales executive on Wall Street. Most of Al's clients are busy professionals and business owners and they love the fact that he speaks their language and understands the incredible demands on their time. Al stays in constant touch with his clients not only through phone calls and face-to-face meetings but also through email, instant messaging, and web pages created specifically for his clients. Clients can view the status of the sale of their home, read feedback from agents that have shown their home and review the status of their personal marketing plan 24-hours-a-day via their personal web page.

    Al understands that technology is just a tool and says it is really his focus on providing world class customer service that has enabled him to achieve great results for his clients. He says the key to his success has been his ability to listen more than he speaks and always put the needs of his clients first.

    Click below to view the original article:

    Ridgewood Home Sales - Strong Late Summer/Early Fall

    New York Times Take on Ridgewood's Graydon Pool Debate

    Aloysius Donohue -  Ridgewood Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Ridgewood, NJ

    Excellent New York Times Article on Graydon Debate Gives Fair Shake to Both Sides

    Graydon Pool NY Times Article

    Photo Credit: Rob Bennett for The New York Times

    I think the article it does a good job of framing the debate and it is a good primer for anyone who would like to bone up on the issue in advance of Wednesday's (9/9) Council Meeting. However, I doubt that there is anybody left in Ridgewood that is not up to speed on this issue and does not already have a strong opinion.

    Here's an excerpt:

    "Both sides say they are Graydon's real defenders. The pool project's report is billed "Restoring Our Village Landmark." Advocates say a concrete pool, sensitively built and respecting the park's distinctive natural setting, is the only way to return it to the community gathering place it used to be.

    The swimming season ends Labor Day, but the battle is just heating up. The council is considering a request for proposals for a new or updated pool. The Preserve Graydon Coalition plans a show of force for a pro-pond presentation to the council on Wednesday. A pro-pool group, Fix Graydon Now! - headed by a longtime Graydon member, Leigh Warren, who has reluctantly come to believe that Graydon will never lure back enough people in its current form - plans a show of force in opposition.

    "I'm told there will be a police presence," one of the pro-pond organizers said ominously."

    Click below to read the article in its entirety.

    NYT Article on Gradyon Pool Debate

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    Ridgewood's Graydon Pool Project: Blessing or Boondoggle?

    The Preserve Graydon Coalition holds their first meeting

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    Ridgewood Real Estate

    Click below to view the original report:

    New York Times Take on Ridgewood's Graydon Pool Debate

    Ridgewood Home Sales Report - A Week of Lucky 7's (Aug. 8th - 14th)

    Aloysius Donohue -  Ridgewood Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Ridgewood, NJ

    Ridgewood Real Estate's Week of Lucky Sevens

    • Seven Ridgewood Homes were listed for sale this week.
    • Seven Ridgewood Homes went under contract this week.
    • Severn Ridgewood Homes were Sold this week.

    It was a pretty consistent week in Ridgewood Real Estate. Not only did we have the exact same number of homes in all three categories but the average price in each category was also very similar this week (8/8 - 8/14). See below:

    Average Prices:

    New Listings: $677,700
    Under Contract: $629,643
    Sold: $670,971

    Click Here to view the details on all homes listed below.

    Street # Street Name Bedrooms Status Days on Market Style Price*
    426 JACKSON 3 Active 8 C/C $542,000
    560 VAN BUREN 3 Active 7 S/L $569,000
    537 BANTA 5 Active 4 S/L $599,000
    186 LINCOLN 4 Active 4 S/L $670,000
    683 EASTERN 4 Active 7 COL $695,000
    443 WASTENA 4 Active 5 COL $779,000
    120 HIGHLAND 4 Active 7 COL $889,900
    481 GROVE 4 Under Contract 11 C/C $428,800
    642 GLEN 2 Under Contract 64 RANCH $475,000
    315 WALTHERY 2 Under Contract 57 RANCH $498,800
    488 GROVE 3 Under Contract 186 COL $549,900
    416 COLWELL 4 Under Contract 16 RANCH $559,000
    435 GLEN 5 Under Contract 85 COL $799,000
    136 MONROE 4 Under Contract 15 COL $1,097,000
    458 NORTHERN 3 Sold 112 B/L $535,000
    485 FRANKLIN 3 Sold 29 COL $582,000
    453 GLEN 4 Sold 173 S/L $525,000
    390 BERKSHIRE 4 Sold 18 COL $642,000
    231 BOGERT 5 Sold 70 COL $643,000
    184 KATHERINE 3 Sold 65 COL $767,500
    227 MCKINLEY 5 Sold 24 RANCH $830,000
    * For Ridgewood homes marked Active, Attorney Review or Under Contract "Price" refers to
    the list price. For homes marked Sold, "Price" refers to the final sale price.

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    The properties in this blog post were listed and sold by various participants of the NJMLS based on information from the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service, Inc. for the period of August 8th through August 14th 2009.

    Click below to view the original article:

    Ridgewood Home Sales Report - A Week of Lucky 7's (Aug. 8th - 14th)