Looks like the month of July, 2008 shows a sustained recovery for the Princeton Junction real estate market. As you can see from the table below, the average sale price is up over the previous 2 months, the average days on the market is steady with the previous month and bettern than 2 months ago, and the number of months to sell off the current inventory at this pace is a remarkably low 4 months! That's way lower than the state average of 10.5 months!
This is exciting news for the Princeton area and proves that West Windsor continues to lead the real estate recovery in New Jersey!
Monthly Statistics for the Date Range Selected
Date
Units Listed
Listed Volume
Listed Average
Pended
Units Sold
Sold Volume
Sold Average
Average DOM
Aug 2008
1
1,250,000
1,250,000
1
7
4,753,399
679,057
36
July 2008
42
23,225,175
552,980
29
47
28,459,000
605,510
56
June 2008
42
23,048,862
548,782
39
34
18,560,183
545,887
57
May 2008
58
35,509,592
612,234
41
34
18,608,500
547,308
78
Totals:
143
83,033,629
580,654
110
122
70,381,082
576,894
62
Inventory Accumulation for the Last 12 Full Months
Current Inventory *
Inventory Volume
Current Average
Average Monthly Sales**
Inventory Accumulation ***
127
78,940,347
621,577
26
4
*Current Inventory is based on the actual available properties on the date this report was created.
**Average Monthly Sales is the average sales for the last 12 full months
***Inventory accumulation (in months) = Current Inventory Units / Average Monthly Sales
For several years now I've used a really great, inexpensive company for my personal toll free number which I put on all of my marketing pieces, email signatures, business cards, web sites and yard signs. I also use them for a toll free fax-to-email number. The company is called Kall8 and for only $2/month (+6.9 cents per minute) you can have your own toll free number that rings to whatever phone you'd like. I have mine ring to my cell phone. I get calls daily from this toll free number and find that potential customers, if given a choice of calling my cell or a toll free number, for some reason, tend to call the 800 number first.
You can even have your toll free number accept faxes. Once a fax is received, it is emailed to you in PDF format! I ahve a seperate number for my toll free fax, but you can use just one number to answer voice or fax calls.
They offer a lot of features for this basic price: Voice mail, fax, call blocking, custom call routing (have calls forwarded to multiple phones based on day, time or even where the call is originating from) and lots more.
They also offer 'vanity' numbers (phone numbers that spell things) starting at $15 per month - for example 1-866-38-REMAX is available as is 1-866-440-MOVE.
I'd be interested to know if anyone else uses their own toll free number and your experiences with it.
James Simmons | RE/MAX Greater Princeton | 800-757-8365
Bucknell Ct., South Brunswick, NJ
Great price for such a new home!
3BR/2.5BA Single Family House
offered at $439,999
Year Built
1992
Sq Footage
Unspecified
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
2 full, 1 partial
Floors
2
Parking
Unspecified
Lot Size
.17 acres
HOA/Maint
$0 per month
DESCRIPTION
This 16 year old home has a fantastic yard and a great location! The lot is 50% larger than the average lot in this neighborhood and it backs to the woods. You'll really enjoy the location on a small, quiet and safe safe cul-de-sac.
The kitchen has new a new stainless steel stove and microwave as well as a custom ceramic tile floor and a sliding door to the backyard deck. Two of the baths have been completely remodeled and upgraded with beautifull custom tile and updated fixtures. There's a wood burning fireplace with a marble surround and wood mantle in the living room.
The oversized backyard has a new, custom pergola and a paverblock patio in addition to the deck. The extra wide backyard has plenty of room to add a pool, playground set or even both!
Located in the Blue Ribbon South Brunswick School district. This is the lowest price single family home of this age in all of South Brunswick -- with all of this going for it, don't hesitate to see this one before it's gone! Click here for more pictures and information about this home
Wow, for all the talk of a "depressed" real estate market, I don't see any indication of that here! In the past month (June 2008) SEVEN Hampshire Townhouses closed, FOUR have been reported under contract, and there are only 5 available in the MLS system as of today. At this rate, there may actually be a shortage of Hampshire Townhouses for sale within just a month or two!
Recent Hampshire townhomes reported as pending in the past month include:
97 Hampshire List price: $300,000 258 Hampshire List price: $284,900 281 Hampshire List price: $294,900 93 Hampshire List price: $339,900
Recent closings in June 2008 include:
42 Hampshire Sale price: $251,000
68 Hampshire Sale price: $265,000
105 Hampshire Sale price: $273,000
248 Hampshire Sale price: $380,000
123 Hampshire Sale price: $310,000
75 Hampshire Sale price: $320,000
74 Hampshire Sale price: $321,000
Information contained here is deemed accurate but subject to errors and ommissions. All sales activity is reported from TrendMLS.
This is simple enough and probably something you may have heard before in the past. If so, then take this as a good reminder: Commit to making one 'difficult' call within the first few minutes of your day EVERY DAY. You know the call I'm talking about. Maybe it's to the irate seller, maybe to tell the buyer that there's a problem with the mortgage, maybe it's a FSBO or expired that you never seem to get to call. Go ahead and make THAT call first. Do the one call that you FEAR the most; the one that causes you anxiety.
The result is threefold: you'll get over that fear real quick; you'll actually accomplish something; and you'll feel like the rest of the day is a breeze (instead of having an unpleasant task hanging over you).
Still find it difficult to do? Think for a minute the absolute worse that can happen if you do it. Then think of the best and most probable thing that will happen. I think you'll see the benefit far outweighs the fear.
Another month is over and it was a good one! West Windsor, in Mercer County, NJ has continued to outpace most of the rest of the state and immediate area with brisk home sales and steady prices. As you can see from the spreadsheet below, June saw a decline in the number of homes coming on the market (39 vs. about 60 for the previous 2 months) and the average days on the market fell from to 48 versus 78 the previous month! We at Re/Max Greater Princeton helped that statistic with several homes we had sell in under 2 weeks recently -- some with multiple offers as well!
Another interesting statistic is the "Inventory Accumulation" which is the total inventory of homes for sale divided by the number of sales monthly (over the past 12 months). This statistic is also referred to the 'months of supply.' While all of Mercer County, NJ has a 10 month supply, West Windsor is half that at only 5 months!
Monthly Statistics
Date
Units Listed
Listed Volume
Listed Average
Pended
Units Sold
Sold Volume
Sold Average
Average DOM
June 2008
39
22,041,162
565,158
28
31
16,584,683
534,989
48
May 2008
58
35,819,692
617,580
40
34
18,608,500
547,308
78
Apr 2008
61
39,656,120
650,100
39
16
7,731,000
483,187
57
Totals:
158
97,516,974
617,196
107
81
42,924,183
529,928
62
Inventory Accumulation for the Last 12 Full Months
Current Inventory *
Inventory Volume
Current Average
Average Monthly Sales**
Inventory Accumulation ***
147
92,630,285
630,137
29
5
*Current Inventory is based on the actual available properties on the date this report was created. **Average Monthly Sales is the average sales for the last 12 full month ***Inventory accumulation (in months) = Current Inventory Units / Average Monthly Sales
For more home local market information and to search thousands of homes for sale, visit my website at www.Central-NJ-Homes.com
Here's a quick one to think about that should free up plenty of your valuable time:
How much time do you think you waste checking your email? Way too much I bet. Try to make it a habit to only check your email twice a day. I'd say late morning after your prospecting or 15 minutes before a lunch break and then again toward the end of the day. Then each of those times that you check the email, respond or otherwise handle each one immediately.
You'll find that you will work more efficiently the rest of the day. You will also find that you will be able to blow right through your responses as your mind is working effectively on the single task at hand rather than the way you are probably doing it now: answering one, making a call, looking up a home, then answering another email.
See how much time you save and use this as a model for the rest of your daily activities too. Check the MLS for new listings once a day ONLY. Do all of your tasks in chunks of similar activities instead of scattershot during the day: Call agents for feedback; return buyer calls; follow up with listings all at once. Your mind will be more focused on the task at hand, you won't waste as much time jumping from one thing to another and back again and you MIGHT even have a little time for yourself leftover at the end of the day!
I had a short discussion with an agent recently about our web leads and how we contact them. "If they give me a phone number on the registration page of my website, I'll call them immediately or as soon as possible" I said. The other agent replied that she has done that a couple of times but got yelled at by the online prospect for calling and she will shy away from doing that in the future.
I've never had someone sound angry at me for calling and the vast majority say things like: "you're the only agent that ever called" or "thanks so much for following up so quickly."
Here's a few cold call phone tips -- or talking to anyone really:
Mirror and matchyour prospects: When they answer the phone I immediately try to sum up their intonation, mood, breathing rate etc. as quickly as I can and try to emulate them. If I get a quick, rushed "hello" I'll try to be quick and to the point in my rate of speech as well. If I get a tired 'hello' that almost sounds like a sigh, I'm not going to be talking too upbeat and fast either. You get the picture.
Ask plenty of questions: The other day I was on the phone with an expired that tried to blow me off quickly but I asked more questions and kept it going for quite a while: how long have you lived here? did you get many showings when it was on the market? Any offers? Where are you moving to? Etc etc. Of course, remember #1 above or you won't get the chance to get many questions in.
Don't talk much about yourself: no one cares how great you are. They want to know what's in it for them and that you listen to them. Which brings us to the next point....
Let them know you are listening: Don't just rush on to the next question, repeat their answer and react to it: "you hardly had any showings? I'm sorry to hear that, that must be so disappointing"
Don't forget to close them: Close them as many times as you have to but not too soon. After talking to them, matching their pattern and rate of speech they loosen up and are more open to you. Now you've earned the right to close them. "So when are you available to get together?" "Let's do this, I'll stop by tonight at 7 or would you prefer tomorrow night at 7?" "I understand why you want to take a break from selling for a while but if I can bring you a good offer within the next 30 days, would you at least consider it?"
Close them again and again: You can even joke about it: "hey I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask you one more time for an appointment; you don't want an agent that gives up on your buyers after the first 'no' do you?"
Anyway, here's the fun part: when I call expireds or fsbo's or any type of cold calling, I make it a game to see how many of these prospects I can get to THANK ME for calling at the end of the conversation. I find if I mirror and match, listen well, ask questions to show my interest and keep the conversation going at least a minute or longer I can get a Thank You from most prospects.
Now isnt' it easier to prospect if you know they are going to thank you for calling?
I have recently found that many libraries across the country offer free audio book downloads right to your computer. I've downloaded some really great ones that help me in this business. It's really easy to do and with hundreds of libraries participating, there's a good chance yours does too.
To start, go to http://search.overdrive.com/ and click on your country and state or region. All of the libraries near you that participate will be listed. By me, in NJ, it seems like a great majority of them offer this service. Of course you will need a library card. If your library doesn't participate in this, you may be able to join a nearby library system like I did. Many libraries will offer memberships to people who work in that town; you don't necessarily have to live there.
You can either search on the page mentioned above for the book you want, or as I like to do, click on your library from the library menu and browse the audio books available. I browse the Business and Self Improvement categories mostly although they do offer just about any genre including childrens, classics, science fiction, romance -- even foreign language instruction.
Once you locate an audio book you want you put it in your 'cart' but before you check out your first book you need to download their software that enables you to download and listen to your selection. You'll find a link for that as well as the simple instructions on your library's download page. Many of the books also give you permission to 'burn' them to a CD as well. You can also download them to your Ipod or MP3 player.
After you have downloaded and installed the OverDrive Audio Book software, which takes about 2 minutes tops, you can begin downloading the audio books in your cart.
Some of the titles available in my library and probably yours include:
ExecutionThe Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy
Guide to InvestingWhat the Rich Invest In, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Sharon L. Lechter C.P.A.
I just got off the phone with a prospective buyer calling about one of my listings. It's a fair priced, newer home in a desireable town. Maybe it's 10k too high but not too bad. So he says, "$439,900 for that? They're out of their minds! The market is terrible, sales are down, banks are failing left and right." He wants a newer home, larger than this for less money. Oh and with a basement. It's just not going to happen.
But this is why he thinks he can steal a home: I mention that home sales have been up each of the previous 4 months showing a steady increase in sales and signs of an improving market. He shoots back with "That's wrong. Didn't you see the news last week that said that they (NAR) originally stated NJ home sales increased 4% but they revised it to say that sales are actually DOWN 30%?"
I can't belive that NAR made such a big mistake and I see an increase in activity, not a decrease so who's right here? He told me to google it. So I did.
Turns out we're both right. I meant that sales are increasing each month over the previous month. I think that is GREAT news.
But he is right in that sales are DOWN 30% from the first quarter of 2007. He sees the market in the tank and thinks he can pick up a bargain. I see sales steadily increasing, competing offers, far lower average days on the market, fewer homes on the market and increasing buyer activity.
He, like many buyers, think that there are lots of desperate banks with REO's, desperate sellers (there are but not THAT desperate that they need to lower their prices by as much as he thinks), and foreclosures in desireable areas begging for offers.
I don't know how I missed that bit of news last week, but I don't feel too bad: NAR really missed the boat on that one. How did that happen?
UPDATE: The buyer just emailed me. Get this: "Thanks for sending the 3 listings... Unfortunately, none of them are worth for what they are asking. These sellers are out of their mind!"
James Simmons
Central A/C
This is simple enough and probably something you may have heard before in the past. If so, then take this as a good reminder: 
I had a short discussion with an agent recently about our web leads and how we contact them. "If they give me a phone number on the registration page of my website, I'll call them immediately or as soon as possible" I said. The other agent replied that she has done that a couple of times but got yelled at by the online prospect for calling and she will shy away from doing that in the future.
;)
;)
