The Blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ 609-729-8505
Just a Feeling
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
As realtors, we often get hunches about our own individual local real estate market, whether it's Monterrey, California or Baton Rouge, Louisiana or Bangor, Maine.
Here at Jewell Real Estate Agency, we have a feeling about 2010. A strong feeling. All the pieces seem to be falling into place that 2010 is going to be a great year. The best since 2005.
Our local real estate market is Cape May County, a small tourist-oriented county at the very southern tip of New Jersey. While we have just 96,000 yearround residents, the summer population swells to 750,000 or more on any given day. Our beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches and back bays and famous boardwalks attract vacationers from Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania; New York City and the surrounding areas of northern New Jersey, southwestern Connecticut, and New York state; plus some fun-seekers from Maryland,Washington, DC and eastern Canada.
We almost exclusively sell vacation homes - including condos and townhomes - and multifamily homes, with an occasional commercial property. We sell a few primary homes each year, mostly off the islands on the mainland. There just isn't a great demand. The seasonality of our location makes us unattractive to yearround living for a young family just getting started. There just isn't enough yearround employment to suit their needs, so the younger generation tends to migrate toward the Philadelphia area and its jobs. The primary homes we do sell are mostly to retirees looking to enjoy the quiet shore life, plus the restaurants, fishing, and attractions of Cape May, the Wildwoods, and even Atlantic City 35 miles to the north.
So back to the countdown to 2010.
We are already showing properties every day, a phenomenon lacking over Christmas break the last two years. Joyce wrote two contracts yesterday - both accepted - and we've got plenty of showings today and tomorrow, right up to New Year's Eve.
People seem eager to buy right now. There's an enthusiasm amongst prospective buyers that has replaced the overall reluctance evident in 2007 through the first half of 2009. Maybe it's the low interest rates or the bargain basement prices of real estate. Maybe it's that folks are tired of sitting on the sidelines and putting off buying that American dream second home. Or perhaps it's because many in the media have given the green light to purchasing real estate and abandoned their doom and gloom prophecies.
Whatever the reason, we have a bounce in our step and a twinkle in our eyes. The new year looks very promising. I think I'll stick a bottle of champagne under the seat of my truck. After my last property showing tomorrow afternoon, I think I'll break out the bubbly and toast the good times ahead. Wanna join me?
- Mountain Man and City Girl
http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com
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