Alan M Erickson - Real Estate Services, Montclair, NJ

Housing Affordability Index Sets Record in January

2009-03-03T17:43:00.002-05:00

The National Association of Realtors have released their Housing Affordability Index for the month of January 2009. The #'s show that the HAI rose 13.6% in January to 166.8, a new record high. The HAI shows that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970. For a chart showing the index for the past 13 months and the past 3 years, click here.

Home Sales Slow in January But Inventory Down Too

2009-02-26T10:15:00.002-05:00

January numbers from NAR (National Association of Realtors) came out yesterday with home sales dropping to a 12 year low. Despite these poor sales figures, inventory levels are down 2.7%. December through February is our 'slow season' so the drop is not surprising considering all the other factors at play. The newly signed stimulus package, no matter the true impact, will give may buyers and homeowners the confidence to enter or re-enter the housing market and will provide for an additional 900,000 sales in 2009 according to the report.

The full article can be seen here:

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/02/january_ehs_inventory

Home Sale Stats - January 2009

2009-02-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

January sales figures are in...you can view them here.

Compare to last year and you can see that while things have changed, some things are strikingly similar. In Montclair, inventory levels for single family homes are up about 15%. Closed sales in January 2009 are way down compared to last year, of course these sales went under contract 2-3 months ago which puts us back to October/November 2008 when NOBODY wanted to buy a house (that is of course you saw and seized on an opportunity that still exists...more on that later). However a telling stat here is that pending sales, those that went under contract in the month, are almost identical to last year and are the highest we have seen since Sep '08.

Considering all the doom and gloom we hear everyday regarding the national real estate market, things are not looking that bad for us in Montclair.

Green Tip Of The Week - Stop Junk Mail

2009-01-30T14:38:00.007-05:00

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Un-Clutter your Life.

Catalogs. Credit card offers. Grocery store circulars. Not only does junk mail pile up - it also can lead to identity theft. With GreenDimes, you'll save time, reduce waste, and protect your privacy.

Think green. Plant trees.

When you join GreenDimes, we plant 5 trees on your behalf. Combined with the paper you save, it's like growing your own tiny forest.

Development Continues in Montclair

2009-01-21T22:59:00.003-05:00

Despite tough economic times, a stalled national real estate market, and falling home prices, developers continue to build new projects in Montclair. Last week The Montclair Times and baristanet reported that Montclair's Planning Board approved a now project dubbed the Rose Aire Building. The Rose Aire will include studio space for Studio Montclair and 15 condo units. The project will be built on a currently vacant lot at the corner of Glenridge Ave and North Willow St.

Green Tip of the Week - Auto-Switching Power Strips

2009-01-19T10:48:00.003-05:00

Beware vampires! To avoid losing thousands of kilowatts for appliances and tech gadgets on 'standby', use this Auto Switching Power Strip that shuts off up to 5 peripheral devices whenever you shut off the main device (computer, TV, etc...). Claims to pay for itself in just 14 weeks! It's a no-brainer for those with a lot of gadgets sucking power while not in use.

Home Sale Stats - 2008

2009-01-12T23:01:00.006-05:00

Final #'s are in. Click here for 2008 home sale stats for Montclair and surrounding towns. Compare the same figures for 2007 and 2006. When you are able to see these numbers side by side you can get an accurate picture of the current state of the LOCAL MARKET, not what the media tells you based on national figures or how far prices are dropping in some far off place like Florida, Detroit or Las Vegas. Remember, all real estate is local.

Green Tip of the Week

2009-01-06T10:34:00.002-05:00

Change all lightbulbs in your home to CFL's (compact fluorescent) to save electricity AND reduce waste. CFL bulbs last longer, up to 15 times that of traditional incandescent bulbs. They also use as little as 1/5th the power of equivilant incandescent bulbs. So, when your current bulbs burn out, consider replacing them with CFL's to save energy costs and keep thousands of light bulbs out of your trash can...that is, until LED bulbs become the new standard for residential lighting!

Case-Shiller Home Price Index down 18%

2008-12-31T12:25:00.002-05:00

The most recent Case-Shiller Home Price Report has nationwide prices down 18% year over year. This figure is a composite of a 20 Metropolitan Area study. This study has New York down 7.5%, one of the better performing areas. Figures range from -4.4% (Charlotte) to -32.7% (Pheonix).

Taking the First-Time Home buyer Credit

2008-12-22T15:31:00.008-05:00

Below is an excerpt from an article written by Joshua Levine of Levine Lawyers. The entire article can be seen here. Joshua can be contacted directly at joshua@levinelawyers.com.

Home buyers could be eligible for a tax break, essentially an interest-free loan worth as much as $7,500, under The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008.

* Known as the first-time home buyer credit, the tax break is available if you purchase a home on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009, and meet certain income and other requirements.
* The credit is equal to 10 percent of the home purchase price, up to a limit of $7,500.
* Unlike other tax credits, this one must be paid back to the government, over a 15-year period.

Who is considered a "first-time" home buyer?

Any taxpayer who has never owned a home as a principal residence. However, you could qualify if you’ve owned a home before, but not as your principal residence during the three years prior to the purchase. Married couples cannot qualify for the credit unless both spouses meet the three-year rule.

-continue reading-

Montclair Open Houses - Sunday December 21st

2008-12-21T11:16:00.002-05:00

Click the link below to search for the days' open houses around town:

http://new.gsmls.com/publicsite/openhouse.do?method=getopenhousesearch

Housing starts down nearly 19%

2008-12-17T13:05:00.004-05:00

According to a recent Bloomberg.com article, housing starts for November are down 18.9%, the slowest pace for nearly a half-century. While this may be a bad sign for housing and many look at it as a bad sign for the entire economy, I see it as a step in the right direction! One of the many current causes (and results...it's a vicious cycle) of the current market conditions is the excess inventory of homes currently on the market. The first step to lowering the inventory...STOP BUILDING NEW HOMES!!! When this happens, more of the unsold inventory will get sold, markets will stabilize, and buyer confidence will return. Couple this with interest rates below 5% (guest post coming soon!) and we could see a return to normalcy sooner than later. Just don't wait for your favorite 10 o'clock news show or online news source to tell you things are better, because by then it'll be too late!

Remember to check back every month when I publish the most recent sales figures for local towns...in the meantime check the most recent figures.

Montclair Open Houses - Sunday December 14th

2008-12-14T11:18:00.004-05:00

Click the link below to search for the days' open houses around town:

http://new.gsmls.com/publicsite/openhouse.do?method=getopenhousesearch

the green book

2008-12-11T11:09:00.003-05:00

the green book is written by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen. It is essentially a collection of green and sustainable living tips that can be done every day to help the environment, and often save you some money. Interspersed within the book are snippets and quotes from celebrities ranging from Justin Timberlake and Will Ferrell to Faith Hill and Martha Stewart. A forward was written by architect William McDonough and actress Cameron Diaz. There are many useful tips in this book including the best lightbulbs to use (CFL's), saving paper by declining ATM receipts, and dozens of ways to save water (turn it off when brushing teeth, taking shorter showers, etc...). This book is definitely a good starting point for anyone interested in how to lessen their impact on the planet by following a few of their 'simple steps.' As you read along, however, you notice many of the tips are repeated. I found the most useful section of the book to be the 'references' section that actually took up the final 50 pages of this relatively short (200 page) book. Overall, I would recommend this book to those looking to get a basic overview of how to live a little 'greener'.

Montclair Stats Jan-Nov 2008

2008-12-04T19:06:00.009-05:00

Here are the statistics for single family and multi family home sales in Montclair and surrounding towns, year to date. I will update this on a monthly basis as the figures become available. If you want statistics for any other local towns, please email me.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pRaMQh_aPpNjZwM6qERYLXA

My blog...why and what?

2008-12-02T16:33:00.003-05:00

Why blog? A question I had asked myself and others many times before deciding to go ahead and get started. I'm sure many bloggers have asked the same question before getting started. My answer is to keep in touch with and provide useful information to my current and future clients.

What is my blog about? My blog will provide information on a number of different topics, but will all center around real estate local to Montclair, NJ. My secondary focus, a subject very important to me, will be Green and Sustainable Living. Growing up and living most of my life in NJ, I see first hand the importance of making smart decisions to lessen the impact we each make on the world. NJ is, and has been for years, the most densely populated state in the US. The impact that we have on the environment here is magnified due to our high population. I will try to pass along some of the knowledge I have gained in order to live a more sustainable (and healthy) lifestyle. My third area of focus will be anything that interests me or I feel is important about this great area that I live and work in. Northern NJ has A LOT to offer, I will feature some of the high points (restaurants, shopping, transportation info, local politics and other areas of interest).

Some other things I may blog about included: book reviews (relating to real estate and sustainable living), websites I find helpful/interesting, news items affecting local real estate, and other general items that I may find important, interesting, funny, or sad.

If you decide to read my blog, and decide to visit often, I hope you enjoy what I have to say, find the information I provide useful, or even learn a thing or two. Please feel free to comment or email me if you have anything to add.

About Me - Part 2

2008-11-30T17:37:00.002-05:00

At the time of this post, I am just about to start my fourth year working in Real Estate. Despite the current market conditions, I truly enjoy my work and look forward to doing it for many years to come. A career in Real Estate gives me the luxury of freedom with my time and allows the opportunity to increase my income directly in line with how hard I work or how smart I use my time. I focus my business on a few specific areas in Real Estate: Acquiring & Selling of Investment Property, Leasing and Property Management. As a NJ licensee I do have the capability and skills to add value to any real estate transaction, in fact I do sell several single family homes every year. However, the majority of my annual transactions are related to the sale or lease of investment real estate.

About Me - Part 1

2008-11-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

I just got married!

I decided to start things off with a few posts about myself. This is not in any way the purpose of this blog, but figured it will lay a solid groundwork for everything that follows. I got married on November 10 in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. The islands are BEAUTIFUL, a great place for a vacation, wedding or honeymoon. We stayed at the Grace Bay Club on Providenciales. We had just a few close friends and family and had a great time. We hired Tropical Imaging to photograph our event, Ileana did a GREAT job. We stayed for our honeymoon and had plenty of time to take pictures, explore the island and indulge in some great food and drinks. When we left the island on our last day, the temperature was a HOT 93 degrees. Returning to Newark Airport around 11:00 PM it was down to about 40. After 9 days in paradise, it was back to NJ and back to work.