James Thomas Boyer

Please join us in celebrating the life of

James Thomas Boyer

(3/9/69 – 1/9/10)

Though Jim’s life on earth is complete, his everlasting life and his support of us from heaven has just begun.  Whether you are a client, partner, friend or family, I hope that you will join us in celebrating the life and legacy that Jim will leave as well as his departure to a brighter place where he will be given everlasting life.

 He has made us laugh

He has made us smile

Now it is our turn

Let’s do it in STYLE! 

Jim is survived by Darren Frankenberger (Partner), Noah James Frankenberger (Son), Mary Desmond (Mother), Tom Boyer (Father), Pam, Pat and Kris (siblings) and his dogs Annie, Taylor and Russel.

Jim found his calling in Real Estate and with the help of social networking, he learned the tools and techniques to build and maintain google ranking in the internet.  His business prospered and he was on track for a very successful career.  Jim is a people person and he will always be remembered for the joy and love that he brought to our lives.

 Jim:  We will miss you.

 Wake will be held at Jim’s home on 1-13-2010 from 3-8.  Service to begin at 5:45PM.  (Kleenex provided, smiles requested)

 To send condolences, please respond to   Darren Frankenberger via Jim’s direct number, 973-647-0253 or use the contactus on this page.

(This post was created by Darren Frankenberger)

The Madison NJ real estate market had a bit of a slow February in 2009 with only 4 homes transferring to their new owners.  Although there are now 19 homes under contact in Madison NJ as of this writing and 71 currently active homes for sale in Madison New Jersey.

The Madison NJ Real Estate Market Update 

43  Chelsea Court  $449,000LP  TwnIntUn  2br 2.1ba 1gar $424,000SP  78DOM
28  Lawrence Rd  $839,900LP  SplitLev, 3br 3ba 2gar $822,500SP  65DOM
6  Baumgartner Dr  $900,000LP  Colonial  4br 3.1ba 2gar $830,000SP  231DOM
33  Prospect St  $1,099,000LP  Colonial  5br 3.1ba 4gar $892,000SP  94DOM

It is looking like the Madison NJ real estate market will be reporting much better numbers at the end of March and in April as well.  This is not a surprise to me as I keep my fingers on the pulse of the local real estate markets and make sure that I am on the cutting edge of any changes that may be happening.  I make sure my clients are positioned to get the best possible deal when buying and selling homes in the area. 

These same trends seem to be happening in other local markets such as the Morristown NJ real estate market and the Chatham NJ real estate market.

Madison NJ 07940 a great place to call home.

James Boyer
Madison NJ Realtor
Madison NJ Real Estate Expert
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

Just a short informational post offering information on the $7500 first time home buyer credit.

$7500 First Time New Jersey Home Buyer Tax Credit

Contact me today at Morris Essex Union & Somerset County homes to get the full report e-mailed to you about the $7500 first time home buyer credit currently being offered by the federal government.  Be aware that there is wording in the documentation I have that says you have to pay it back over 15 years, but it is my understanding that the repayment provision is being removed.

James Boyer
Morris County Realtor
Morris County Real Estate Specialist
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

I have also recently posted a link to the Morris County NJ school closings update page.

I write this today for the Morris County NJ home buyers out there who are scared to make a move, thinking that they should try to time the real estate market hoping that they will catch the bottom.  Bad idea, if you try to catch the bottom you will likely depend on the news media who will tell you it is ok to go ahead about 12 to 18 months after the bottom has come and gone.  Just like they did when the market topped.

Homes in Morris County NJ are selling

Here are sales numbers for many of the local Morris County towns.

2007     2008

133  84   Chatham Boro New Jersey 07928

165        146      Chatham Township New Jersey 07928

174  130  Madison New Jersey 07940

318        260      Morris Township New Jersey 07960

171   167  Morristown New Jersey 07960 

 74          52        Morris Plains New Jersey 07950

 59         29         Harding New Jersey 07976

 87         77          Florham Park New Jersey 07932

 81         65         East Hanover New Jersey 07936 

As you can see, the number of sales is down in every one of the towns, though the hardest hit is the Luxury real estate market of Harding New Jersey, while the lightest hit are towns on the Midtown Direct train line and those towns which have more housing at the lower end of the price range such as condominiums and first time home buyer type homes. 

Towns which are better suited for first time home buyers by price, are Morristown, Morris Township, Madison, Florham Park, East Hanover, and Morris Plains.

Truth be told this is a fabulous time to be a Morris County NJ home buyer.  There are some great prices out there, as well as interest rates quoted this week below 4.75% on a 30 year fixed rate.

If you are thinking of purchasing a home in the near future, consider moving forward now.  There is a $7500 first time home buyer tax credit availible to Morris County NJ home buyers who close on their home before July 1, 2009.

James Boyer
Morris County REALTOR
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

Many would be home buyers have been sitting on the fence trying to time the New Jersey real estate market for quite a while now.  The question now though is, have we reached a bottom?  Will these New Jersey home buyers know the bottom when it is reached? 

The answer the the first questions is probably we have reached a bottom, but in reality you cannot really know a bottom has been put in until probably 12 months afterwords, when it is too late to have taken advantage of that so called bottom.

The answer to the second question in about 99% of the cases is a resounding NO.  Most home buyers who are sitting waiting for the optimum time to buy wait to long.  Why do they wait to long, they tend to listen to the news media to much.  The news media is the same group who was overly optimistic in 2003 - 2006 basically telling people that housing affordability was running away from them and they better jump on board or that train was going to leave them behind for ever.  I still remember some of the news reports talking about an entire generation of people who would end up being renters and never being able to own a home.

New Jersey Real Estate Update

Let me first state a long held belief I have had about the homes that are for sale.  In general only about 20% of the NJ homes listed for sale are actually priced to sell.  The other 80% of the homes that are listed in gsmls are just listed, the home owner and their NJ REALTOR have not priced the home for reality.

Morristown NJ homes for sale

There are currently 118 homes listed in gsmls with an active status.  In reality there are probably only 24 homes listed for sale at prices that will draw a ready and willing NJ home buyer.

Madison NJ homes for sale

There are 60 homes in Madison New Jersey listed in gsmls with a active status.  In reality there are likely only 12 homes that are currently priced to actually sell.  12 homes is not much.

Chatham NJ homes for sale

There are currently 105 Chatham Boro & Chatham Township.  That means that probably 21 homes are actually priced to sell in Chatham New Jersey.  That is not much, I have 3 different home buyers who are interested in Chatham, and let me tell you there are some great deals availible, and there are some real stinkers for the price.

Summit NJ homes for sale

124 Summit NJ homes listed in gsmls.  That means that likely 25 homes are actually priced to sell in Summit New Jersey.  I have shown or previewed at least 30 homes in Summit in the past 3 weeks, once again there are some very good deals, and there are some Summit NJ home owners who need a reality check.

There are many other towns that I do business in and know a great deal about.  Too many in fact to keep on listing, but the same metric seems to apply in all of them, only about 20 percent of those listed for sale in gsmls our local Multiple Listing Service are really priced so that they will sell.

With mortgage brokers like my friend Bob Scarzella (908-252-3958 Office, Robert_Scarzella@countrywide.com) over at Country Wide quoting rates as low as 4.75%  on a 30 year fixed as recently as 01/08/09 Mortgages are a great deal.  With home selling prices hovering around the 2004 / 2005 level, and the Federal Government doing everything possible to end the housing recession, now is likely a great time to be a home buyer in Northern New Jersey.  It is unlikely that prices will decline much from here.

Don’t forget the $7500 first time home buyer credit expires on July 1, 2009

James Boyer
NJ REALTOR
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

I just wrote a report about the Madison NJ real estate market earlier today where I discussed the 11 homes which sold in Madison New Jersey during the month of December.  So I thought I would write this article and give you all the comparable statistics for the month.  You can read the sales report article titled Madison NJ home sales December 08

The Madison NJ real estate market

The Madison NJ real estate market has been holding up fairly well compaired to other local real estate markets.  After all homes are still selling, prices seem to be declining but at a moderate pace, and buyer are still willing to go out and look at the Madison NJ homes for sale. 

Madison NJ real estate market statistics

$581,818 Average List Price Madison NJ 08
$556,454 Average Sold Price Madison NJ 08
$681,764 Average List Price Madison NJ 07
$666,642 Average Sold Price Madison NJ 07

Averages can be deceiving but there they are.  To be fair the average size of a home selling in Madison New Jersey is smaller than in 2007.  That is not a big surprise since the lower end of the market is what has been doing best.

$495,000 Median List Price Madison NJ 08
$500,000 Median Sold Price Madison NJ 08
$570,000 Median List Price Madison NJ 07
$570,000 Median Sold Price Madison NJ 07

Once again reflective of smaller homes selling, and somewhat price declines.  For example the median home sold in Madison NJ in December of 07 was 4 bedrooms 2.5 baths.  In December of 08 the median home sold was 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths.

52.7 Average days to sell December 08
30.5 Average days to sell December 07
44.0 Median days to sell December 08
22.0 Median days to sell December 07

It is taking longer to sell a home in Madison New Jersey than in 2007.

95.6 Average percentage of list price homes sold for 08
97.8 Average percentage of list price homes sold for 07

Many home sellers in Madison New Jersey have still been over pricing their homes, but as you will see in the above article there are more then a few who are pricing their homes very competitively as well.

James Boyer
Madison NJ REALTOR
Madison NJ real estate specialist
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

Madison New Jersey Real Estate | Madison NJ REALTOR | Madison NJ home sales

This comes from a real life experience I have had and a swear I do not know what the New Jersey REALTOR was thinking when he/she said this.  I do know that it was one of the worst things that could be said in front of buyers from outside of the United States. 

My impression of what people from outside of the United State think of this country is, that the US is full of violent crime and that everyone experiences it at some point in their lives.  We all know that this is not true, but this is my perceived view of what people from other countries think of us.

So I was at a real estate closing with my home sellers attorney, and the home buyers attorney, the buyers REALTOR and the home buyers of course are all sitting in the conference room with the door to the conference room wide open, so we can hear everything that is being said in that conference room.   All of the sudden the buyers had a question about the alarm system in the house, and who should they call to activate it right away.  The home buyers REALTOR chimes in and says, oh you don’t have to hurry, I still have not hooked up my alarm system, and I have not had a problem.  He/She continues by saying, even after the guy across the street from me was kidnapped and murdered I did not feel like the alarm was needed. 

Now to this everyone who was not in the room just winced and wondered out loud, he/she did not just say that did they?  I still cannot believe a New Jersey REALTOR would even talk about such a thing in front of any home buyer, let alone home buyers who are moving here from another country.

New Jersey Real Estate Agents should know better than to say anything so shocking, be it true or not true, it is just not a good subject to talk about, and possibly could be viewed as a violation of ethics to be talking about crime in specific neighborhoods.  I know that everything I have learned in the five years I have been a full time REALTOR has taught me never to say such things.  Being a New Jersey Real Estate agent comes with some things that just are not to be talked about.

James Boyer
New Jersey REALTOR
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

For more New Jersey Real Estate news visit the NJ Real Estate Blog

June in Madison New Jersey was a kick butt month for real estate sales.  21 homes sold and transferred in Madison New Jersey is a lot of homes for one month.  If this pace were to keep up, the Madison NJ Real Estate market would have a wonderful year.

Here are the actual addresses and sold prices for each of the homes sold in Madison NJ 07940. (more…)

The Madison NJ Real Estate Update

In May 2008 there were 10 Madison NJ real estate transfers.  Here are the homes which transferred as well as their list price and sold price. (more…)

Well, five months have passed of 2008.  It is time to take a look at how the Madison NJ real estate market has been doing as compaired to this time in 2007.

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