Children and young adults enrolled in the Millburn public school district tend to be extremely successful individuals bent on improving the world in a variety of creative ways. Three such students are: Brannon Cho, Erik Lamp and Nils Sohn. Cho, Lamp and Sohn were state finalists in the Siemens "We Can Change the World" challenge (siemens.discoveryeducation.com). These three dedicated individuals researched the Norway maple tree and discovered that it was hazardous to other plant life because of the inky, unusual shadow its branches cast over them, preventing the other plants from absorbing sunlight. The tree is not native to the area, yet the three young men noticed that it was prevalent in the Poet section and the South Mountain Reservation. Calling themselves the Team Millburn Mustangs, Cho, Lamp and Sohn made a street distribution. The street distribution pointed out where Norway maples and other trees are concentrated in the township, and is now used as a reference for Millburn’s forester Tom Doty. Advised by Doty and Millburn Middle School teacher Michelle Cho, the students weathered the cold and rain to walk around these neighborhoods, leaving surveys in biodegradable bags for residents asking if they would be willing to replace their Norway maples with native trees that would be provided by the Shade Tree department. The boys’ efforts did not go unnoticed. A whopping 87% of the residents acquiesced. The township of Millburn/Short Hills is very appealing to potential new home owners interested in investing in real estate in the New Jersey area because of efforts such as these.

The township of Millburn/Short Hills is very attractive to potential new home owners. The public high school is rated to be the number one high school in the state of New Jersey, sending 99% of its graduates to colleges and universities around the country. The alumni of Millburn/Short Hills public schools are always looking for opportunities to go above and beyond. Community youth groups do a lot of good for the township and people in need. One such community youth group is the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills. The Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills has new members who have recently participated in their first of many future volunteer projects. Gail Davis, Loren Balady, Liz Harter, Michele Shapard, Katherine Eklund, Lynnn Rothenberg, Kara Lawler, Mary Grossman and Melissa Sheehy, Legh Garrett, Sock Wang and Adriana Johnson, Lynda Bradley and Kathryn Wile all enjoyed teaching children about the importance of healthy foods and fitness during their first project. The Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills organized two special events with games, quizzes, activities and giveaways for more than 100 children during Healthy Kids Day. The special events took place at the East Orange YMCA. The two free events were part of the Junior League’s initiative "Kids in the Kitchen." The “Kids in the Kitchen” initiative’s goal is to help to reverse the growth of childhood obesity and the health issues associated with it by encouraging eating healthy foods and exercising. Opportunities for children, like participating in the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills attract many potential new home owners to the township of Millburn/Short Hills. These potential new home owners want to invest in real estate in a place where there children can grow and flourish while learning about the importance of helping others.

The township of Millburn/Short Hills is a very popular location for potential new home owners who are also parents. Potential new home owners with children are often interested in investing in real estate in the township of Millburn/Short Hills because they want their children to be surrounded by other intelligent, motivated and conscientious young people. The township of Millburn/Short Hills is well known for having intelligent, active and caring youth. An example of a Millburn high school student fitting this description is Danielle Alonzi. Alzoni organized a walk for the National Eating Disorders Association that was held on May 24, 2009 at the Millburn High School outdoor track. Specialists from NEDA (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/) were on site to answer questions about eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. They advised participants about how to recognize an eating disorder, when and how it is appropriate for friends and family members to intervene and try to help. In addition they also provided information about what treatment options are available for individuals suffering from eating disorders, and the ideal ways to bring treatment and help to people seeking assistance. As the weather gets warmer, the pressure to look thin increases and some people’s diets can get extremely out of hand. People with eating disorders often present with body dysmorphia, which is a lack of understanding of how their bodies appear to the outside world. They think they look overweight when in fact they are too thin to be healthy. If you are interested in sponsoring someone participating in a NEDA walk, you can visit: www.njnedawalk.com. Students like Alzoni are what make the township of Millburn/Short Hills unique—and especially attractive to potential property investors.

The township of Millburn/Short Hills attracts a wide variety of interesting and talented potential new home owners. Perhaps the diverse and fascinating community harbored in the township of Millburn/Short Hills has something to do with that. Township residents are perpetually being recognized for various acts of kindness or professional accomplishments. Township resident Leonard Cassuto is no exception. Cassuto, an author who focuses on the genre of mystery, was recently nominated by The Mystery Writers of America to receive an Edgar Award. Often referred to as the “Oscars” of the mystery genre, the Edgar Awards (named after Edgar Allen Poe), are a huge honor. Cassuto has been nominated for a 2009 Edgar Award in the category of Best Critical/Autobiographical for his book, "Hard-Boiled Sentimentality." Cassuto worked on the book for about a decade. Ever since he was a young child, Cassuto has loved crime novels. His interest in the project stemmed from his curiosity about the unusual character of the serial killer. "Hard-Boiled Sentimentality" looks at the American crime genre throughout history, following the changes and variations. Cassuto is a professor of English at Fordham University where he says he uses the classroom as a sort of laboratory environment to test out his ideas. Township residents like Cassuto are a considerable part of what makes the township of Millburn/Short Hills so uniquely appealing to potential new home owners.

The township of Millburn-Short Hills is an ever-popular hot spot for potential new homeowners. As a resident and a Realtor of Millburn-Short Hills, I am in a unique position to understand all of the drawing powers of this desirable community. While Millburn-Short Hills is first thought of as an affluent town, it is often overlooked that residents of Millburn-Short Hills are genuinely committed to community service. The Brender family, well known throughout the community, exemplifies the generous, selfless spirit of many township residents.

The Danielle Brender fund, along with the Millburn-Short Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross, held the eighth annual Community Mass Training Course in CPR/AED last week. The event was wall attended-over 200 people came to be trained at Millburn High School. The Danielle Brender fund is an organization that was founded by Sharon and Avi Brender. The Brenders created the organization in memory of their 11-year-old daughter, Danielle. Danielle was an ostensibly healthy young girl who died of a sudden cardiac arrest in 2000. The cardiac arrest was attributed to Long QT Syndrome, which is an electrical disturbance in the heart. Since then the Brenders have raised enough donations to attain automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for each public school in the township and also enough money for the Red Cross to provide for the CPR and AED training. The annual training event is free to all participants, but the cost for holding the event has risen to over $11,000. The Brenders hold an annual fund-raiser in their home each fall, but donations are necessary to keep the program running. Interested parties may make their donations to the Danielle Brender Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 766 Millburn 07041. Additional information can be found by calling 973-379-9375.

Families like the Brenders who raise hope from hardship are an integral part of what makes the Township of Millburn-Short Hills a vibrant and desirable community. Efforts like theirs are a huge part of what attracts potential new homeowners to the area.

The township of Millburn-Short Hills is a very popular place for potential new homeowners to look. Millburn-Short Hills is renowned for its top ranking public school district, the close proximity to Manhattan and strong property values. Despite its reputation as a very affluent town, Millburn-Short Hills also boasts a small town, neighborly feel and has a long history of community service, the foundation of which starts with its youngest residents.

Several members of the Millburn High School band gave a performance for senior citizens at the annual intergenerational winter party. Alex Sugarman and Kelly Blumenthal were involved in the Band performance and were featured in the local paper for their sincere efforts. Along with Sugarman and Blumenthal were members of Students Offering Service after the party: Ashley Shepard, Robert Vaters, Dan Griffith and Angela Hou. The gathering was held in conjunction with the Township Senior Citizens Coordinator's office. It took place in the high school cafeteria on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

Millburn-Short Hills students work hard both scholastically and for the good of the community benefitting all residents. Perhaps the township's most valuable feature for newcomers is the opportunity to be part of a vibrant, genuine and hard working community.

Blog provided by Shannon Aronson a Keller-Williams top Short Hills/Millburn Real Estate agent.

Continuing on the heels of a busy January, the Short Hills/Millburn real estate market continue to shows signs of increasing activity during the first half of February.

So far this month, 6 homes have gone under contract. These homes range in price from $749,000 to $1,495,000. These homes were on the market for an average of 79.5 days before a contract was signed, which is somewhat longer than the average during the last few months. The median price of these homes is $950,000.

There have been 3 homes that have sold so far in February. They are 408 Wyoming Avenue (sold for $535,000), 100 Oakview Terrace (sold for $781,000) and 315 Lupine Way (sold for $969,000). These homes sold at an average of 99% of the asking price and were on the market an average of 55 days before going under contract.

February has seen 17 new homes come on the market in the first 11 days of the month. This is a slight increase over the amount of new inventory we have seen in recent months. At present there are 87 homes being marketed on the Garden State Multiple Listing Service. It is interesting to note that 8 of these new listings are being marketed at over $1.5 million and 3 of those are over the $3 million mark. There are 9 new homes under $1 million, which has remained a fairly strong segment of the market.

As always, sellers continue to need to refine their expectations in pricing their homes. So far this month, 9 home sellers have become more aggressive with their pricing, dropping their prices on average 5.9%.

This report was prepared by Shannon Aronson a Real Estate Agent in Short Hills and Millburn New Jersey.

January proved to be a good month for those residents of Millburn and Short Hills who have been trying to sell their homes. In contrast to a very slow fourth quarter in 2008, the first month of 2009 showed a tremendous increase in real estate activity.

While January is typically a very slow month in the real estate world, fifteen homes went under contract to be sold during January of this year. This is a dramatic increase over each of the previous 3 months, in fact it is double. In October 2008, 8 homes went under contract. In November 2008, only 7 homes found buyers, and in December, only 7 homes brought contracts for sale.

Equally impressive is that homes in all price ranges were moving in January. During this month alone, 3 homes over $2 million, and one house over $4 million went under contract. In the previous 3 months combine only one home over $2 million found a buyer.

The amount of inventory for home buyers to consider crept up only slightly in January. There are currently 83 homes for sale. These remains very low, historically, although is up from 74 homes on the market at the end of 2008.

Home buyers are continuing to gain an edge in negotiating pricing. Of the homes that actually sold in January, buyers were able to secure a price at 95.1% of what sellers were asking. This continues a downward trend in the ratio between selling price vs. asking price. This is down from 96.7% in 2008 and 97.9% in 2007. The average home that sold in January 2009 was on the market for 64.5 days before going under contract. This remained fairly consistent with 2008 averages.

The most expensive home to be sold in January was at 91 Fairfield Drive. This home sold for $2,600,000 in just 32 days. This is impressive as homes in the upper price ranges typically take much longer to sell.

The report is provided by Shannon Aronson a Keller Williams Real Estate Agent in the Millburn, Short Hills, Summit and other surounding towns in New Jersey.

The township of Millburn/Short Hills consistently attracts new home owners with its wide variety of community events. My experience as a realtor in this area has shown me that potential new home owners are interested in investing in property in areas that provide unusual and exciting opportunities for them to meet new people and participate in causes that they support. New Eyes for the Needy is one of the many organizations that creates exciting events that draw the attention of potential new home owners.

Millburn's New Eyes for the Needy is going to be hosting a 2009 gala event. The event is titled the "World Tour of Wine," and will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Beacon Hill Club in Summit. The event is being sponsored by Investors Savings Bank. Investors Savings Bank is going to be venerated for its investment in and support of the communities throughout the state of New Jersey. Connie Fowler of "Let's Have a Taste," will be leading the wine tasting. Fowler is going to pair 50 different wines with an assortment of local delicacies. Victoria Cannizzo will be providing musical entertainment, and Assemblyman Jon Bramnick is going to be the auctioneer for the event. Items that Bramnick will auction for the guests of the gala consist of a Jets football signed by Brett Favre, a cruise on the Hudson River and tickets to "Live with Regis and Kelly" and "Saturday Night Live." All proceeds from the gala are going to benefits New Eyes for the Needy, which is based in the township of Millburn/Short Hills and is a non-profit organization. New Eyes for the Needy has dedicated itself to providing proper eyewear to people in the United States and around the globe, and have already assisted over 7 million people with their purchases of new eyeglasses and recycled glasses that they have donated to other countries. For ticket information, call 973-376-4908.

Events like the New Eyes for the Needy gala event keep the township of Millburn/Short Hills interesting to potential new home owners. It is no surprise that people would want to reside in a township that holds exciting charity events and supports organizations as worthwhile as New Eyes for the Needy.

The township of Millburn/Short Hills is well known for many reasons. The blue ribbon award winning High School that sends more than 97% of its students to four year universities is one reason. The gorgeous properties and fine homes are another appealing feature, along with the historic monuments such as the Paper Mill Playhouse and Greenwood Gardens. These factors are all well and good, but what really makes the township of Millburn/Short Hills appeal to potential new home owners and impress people across the state is the tenacity and values of its residents.

One such resident, Dennis Yu, along with the help of Kelly Blumenthal, is organizing a state wide A Capella competition for young people in order to raise money for an educational program that will supply compact discs of choral music to high school singing groups who have been affected by recent budget cuts in these fiscally difficult times. Yu's competition would raise funds for "Tunes for Teens." Tunes for Teens is a division of the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. The Contemporary A Capella Society of America seeks to distribute compact discs of choral performances for high school choruses, free of charge. The compact discs are donated by singers, educators and composers who seek to provide student access to modern a cappella music.

Yu's determination to persevere in the face of budget cuts is typical of the Millburn/Short Hills township spirit. Most high school seniors would be working away on their college applications instead of searching for alternative sources of discs. Potential new home owners are always interested in purchasing property in the township that nurtures such gumption, creativity and resourcefulness in its young people.