Mountain Man and City Girl

I have never been described politically as anything other than a liberal.  A bleeding heart liberal, maybe even.  I care about the common man, of which I count myself.

 But I do draw the line.

In the 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that the township of Mt. Laurel was unlawfully excluding low and moderate income families from town.  Over the course of the next nine years, the Court found the same happening in Mahwah, Franklin Township, Chester, and again Mt. Laurel.

 The result was the Fair Housing Act of 1985.  The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) was formed, under the auspices of the state Department of Community Affairs, to enforce regulations enacted to combat this practice.

COAH’s mission was and is “To facilitate the production of sound, affordable housing for low and moderate income households by providing the most effective process to municipalities, housing, providers, non-profit and for profit developers to address a construction obligation within the framework of sound comprehensive planning.”

 Poppycock!  Bullfeathers!

What the law said, in effect, was that no matter how nice or exclusive your town is, you will be forced to supply your COAH-mandated quota of low and moderate income housing.

I vigorously oppose this forced integration of different economic levels of people.  It’s un-American.

I have an above average income, but I’ve never been so foolhardy to think that I can afford to live in Palm Springs, California or West Palm Beach, Florida or Newport, Rhode Island or a hundred other exclusive locals.  I don’t whine about it.  I don’t try to force a town to make sure there is a cheap house for me to buy.

Life is economics.  You have to live in a community that you can afford.  Interference by legislative do-gooders is not right.

My first home was in rural Maine.  It’s all I could afford.  My next property was in rural North Carolina.  Again, it was all I could afford.  I understood my place in the economic pecking order and I accepted it.  I lived within my means.

My first home in Cape May County was purchased when I was 44 years old.  I scrimped and saved.  I worked two and three jobs.  I never turned down overtime.  I was aware that hard work equalled rewards - in this case a nice home at the Jersey shore.

Two communities in Cape May County are being forced to shoulder an unfair burden of affordable housing.  By 2018, Middle Township - which includes Rio Grande and Cape May Court House - must supply 934 units.  Upper Township is on the hook for 531 units.  Yikes, that’s crazy!

The effect on the two school systems, the police force, the services needed will hamper existing homeowners with an even larger tax burden than they already have.  And their way of life will change forever.

It’s time to repeal the Fair Housing Act.  Government meddles in our lives way too much.  COAH is living proof of that.

Despite media reports that the real estate market is in the doldrums, active full-time real estate agents are finding that not to be the truth.  At least here in Cape May County, New Jersey.

 With interest rates hovering around five percent and ample property inventory at rock bottom prices, savvy buyers see opportunity.

 Here’s the real estate activity in the Wildwoods - that includes Wildwood, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach - as of May 11, 2009:

 Single family homes - 268 currently for sale, 19 currently under contract, 88 sold in the past year.

 Multi-family homes - 117 for sale, 4 under contract, 34 sold.

Condominiums/townhomes - 1065 for sale, 79 under contract, 433 sold.

 The number that jumps right out is 433 condos sold in the past year.  That’s impressive.  And keep in mind that this figure is only for Multiple Listing Service sales serviced by a realtor - not private sales, sheriff sales and bank sales handled without a realtor.

 Throw in the single family and multi-family sales and it’s 555 properties that were sold.  Another 102 will close soon.  That’s hardly a “dead market” as some doom and gloomers would have you believe.

The average condo sold for $318,670, with the median for days on the market (DOM) at 154 days (or about 5 months).  The total sales were $137 million.

Multi-family properties averaged $294,695 with a median DOM of 131 days (or 4 months+).  Total sales were $10 million. 

Single family homes averaged $432,011 with median DOM of 178 days (6 months).  Total sales were $38 million.

 These numbers are just for the Wildwoods.  I’ve avoided throwing in the countywide figures because the Cape Mays, Stone Harbor, Avalon and Ocean City are so much higher priced that they unfairly make the sales figures unbelievably high.  So here goes:

Single family - $442 million in sales in past year averaging $528,008. 

Multi-family - $22 million in sales averaging $420,040.

Condo/townhomes - $306 million in sales averaging $418,917.

Put together (and I’ve not included commercial or land sales in our discussion) that’s $770 million in sales this past year through realtors.

As you can see, plenty of folks are putting their money into real estate.  They understand the value found in today’s market.  Don’t you?

Happy New Year Everyone!  Jewell Real Estate Agency had a good 2008, and we are looking forward to an even better 2009.  The year started off with a bang on January 2.  Our office was so busy and crowded you couldn’t move.  Both Douglas and I had people in our office looking to buy and there were people in the front office waiting to talk to us.  Instead of all the doom and gloom that you read in the newspaper, the people we talked to were upbeat and felt it’s the right time to buy.  We couldn’t agree more.  Interest rates are at an all-time low. 

I received a rate sheet today from Wells Fargo that had a 4.75% 30 year fixed mortgage rate with 0 points.  Other rate sheets I received were slightly higher but in the same range.   How long will this last?  No one knows.

Here’s some stats for Cape May County that may interest you.  Last year (2008) there were over 1900 properties sold.  The year before had over 2200 properties sold.  Properties available now in the Wildwoods (Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and West Wildwood) number around 1192.  Other areas:  Avalon - 297; Lower Township - 386; Middle Township - 425; Upper Township - 83; Dennis Township - 137; Cape May - 300; Sea Isle City - 252; Stone Harbor - 149. 

If you’re considering whether to buy, now is a good time to see what’s out there.  There are some great properties to be had.  If you’re looking to sell, it’s still a great time because the low interest rates are helping to get a lot of people off the fence and making an offer.

If the past week is any indication of what’s to come, it’s going to be a good year.  Check out our Featured Listings and the entire MLS on our website.  Give us a call or send us an email.  We’d love to hear from you.

City Girl - Joyce Jewell, GRI, ABR, ePRO, ASP

A real estate auction held last week drew plenty of prospective bidders by advertising for a couple of months that “bids begin at $175,000″.  But of the 800 who attended the auction and 600 who had requested the 300-page bid packets, less than 50 actually bid on the 26 condomimiums. 

It seems that The Pointe at Moore’s Inlet advertising didn’t live up to the billing.  When the 25th unit sold for $346,500, the 26th condo was pulled from the sale.  The sellers weren’t going to let another go so cheap.  That 25th unit was the only one under $400,000.  The 24th went for $412,500.

The unique bid format began with the highest bid, which in turn allowed the purchaser to pick from the 26 condos the one he wanted.  That high bid was $786,500 for a premium unit originally priced at $1,249,000.  The second round bid was $770,000 on a unit originally being sold for $1,049,000.

The total price for the 25 units was $14,459,500, or an average of $578,380.  There are 18 units that were held back from the auction, with most being more square footage than those offered at the auction.  It’s probably safe to say that those 18 units, plus the one pulled from the auction, will fetch another $12 million or more.  Another 17 units were sold by the developer before going the auction route.  The most expensive went for over $1 million, and four others broke the $800,000 plateau.  So let’s conservatively say they collectively reaped another $10 million.

Adding the numbers, we’re looking at $36 million in total sales, probably more.  While it’s not near as much as the developer originally hoped to tally, it should keep the project out of the red ink.

As for the buyers, they didn’t steal the units.  But they got a pretty decent deal! 

One drawback to the complex is that it is located in the heart of North Wildwood’s bar district.  That means loud, raucous crowds on summer nights until 3am, when the bars close.  Weekends find assorted festivals, with revelers on the streets practically until dawn. 

If you’re like most of us 50-something and 60-something year olds, that’s way past our 10 o’clock bedtime.  But if you like to party all night, or want to rent the unit to party-types, this might fit the bill.

- Mountain Man

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has granted a CAFRA permit for the first of six Wildwood high-rise hotels which have already gained city approvals. 

The CAFRA permit, which stands for Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, is necessary for any new project which proposes 24 or more units, 49 or more parking spaces, or is located near water.  It normally takes a minimum of two years - sometimes much longer - to satisfy NJDEP that their stringent conditions will be met.

The Starlight Resort Hotel became the first to gain the nod from NJDEP.  That project is located between Juniper and Glenwood Avenues on the east side of Ocean Avenue and would offer spectacular views of the ocean, beaches, and island.  BMF Investments, which is now expected to sell the property to a developer with big bucks and building experience, received approval for a 23-story, 255-foot tall building consisting of 264 residential units (about half sold as condos but all available for hotel rental), a 200-seat restaurant, 654 parking spaces, a spa/swimming pool/fitmess club, and some upscale retail shops.

One condition of the CAFRA permit was that the City of Wildwood create a parking authority and BMF contributes $442,000 to that authority.  The city is already in the process of creating that authority.  The city previously placated NJDEP by implementing a comprehensive municipal plan, which designated which areas of the city’s eastside could accommodate high-rise construction.

Many interested observers expected the Nouveau Wave, a 25-story high-rise to be located between Rio Grande and Andrews Avenues at Ocean Avenue, to be the first to receive the coveted CAFRA permit.  They were turned down over a year ago and needed to make a few changes to their application before gaining approval.  Reportedly, they’ve made a few project alterations by adding more hotel units so their application had to be redrawn prior to being resubmitted.

As the high-rises come on line, which should begin by 2011, the convention center should boom and the island will ascend into the next level of its renaissance.

- Mountain Man

The Cape May County Association of Realtors is sponsoring a county-wide open house weekend Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27.  It will be widely advertised.   It’s a great opportunity for buyers to view a variety of properties and help them find just what they are looking for.

Jewell Real Estate Agency will be showcasing the following properties.  For more information, feel free to call or email anytime.  Contact Joyce Jewell at 609-729-8505 or cell # 609-780-7131.  Check out our website for more details and all our featured listings and the entire MLS.  http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

 Wildwood Crest - 119 East Morning Glory Road - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday, April 27 - 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

         2600 SF. 4 bedrms, 4 baths, 2 master suites , fireplace, sunroom,  garage, $569,000

Wildwood Crest - 7601 Atlantic Avenue, Unit 203 - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday,  April 27   1:30pm to 3:30pm   

     3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 SF , ocean views, fully furnished, Pool $465,000

Wildwood Crest - 401 East Miami, Unit 401 -Penthouse - Saturday,  April 26 and Sunday,  April 27 11am to 1pm 

      Entire top floor - 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, fully furnished  Oceanviews - $845,000

Wildwood Crest - 135 East Wisteria Road - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 1:30pm to 3:30pm

     4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths.   Fireplace, garage, outside shower, fully furnished.  $875,000

 North Wildwood - 507 East 14th Avenue, Unit 101 - Saturday April 26 and Sunday April 27  11am to 1pm

     3 Bedrooms, 3 baths, 2-story condo. Beach block.   Fully furnished.   $685,000

North Wildwood - The Tuscany - 1900 Surf Avenue - Saturday, April 26, 11am to 1pm

     Several units available starting at $179,000.  Pool. On-site property management.  Laundry facilities.

Wildwood - 204 West Pine Avenue - Sunday, April 27 - 11am to 1pm

     Single Family Home or Duplex - 9 bedrooms, 2 baths, furnished $329,000

West Wildwood - 7 Venice - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 11am to 1pm

     2-story condo - 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, BOATSLIP - $389,900

West Wildwood - 757 W. Glenwood Avenue - Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27  - 1:30pm to 3:30pm

     New Townhome - 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, garage, wet bar  water views - $395,000

The real estate market in Cape May County, New Jersey is based on second homes - vacation homes - whatever you want to call them.  The county is evenly divided - 50% of residences are primary homes and 50% are second homes.  At our real estate agency, both our island office in Wildwood Crest and our mainland office in Swainton sell about 90% second homes.  Primary homes are a small part of our business.

Cape May County has a lot going for it to attract families with the financial ability to afford a vacation home.  There’s the beaches, the boardwalks, fishing and boating, 12 golf courses, a great free zoo, bird-watching, restaurants, state parks, museums, and shopping.  Eco-tourism alone accounts for $522 million per year.  With low crime, no industry, and tolerable traffic, it’s the recipe for an inviting vacation destination.

While much of the country still suffers from a stagnant real estate market, here at the shore the market is back on the rise.  Perhaps analyzing a few numbers will help us understand not only why we are doing okay, but also why we’ll flourish in the future.

There are 6 million households in the United States that own a second home.  Numbers released from a 2007 poll indicate that 22.8 million American households (out of 105 million total US households) expect to purchase a second home in the next 10 years.  Wow, that’s a staggering number.  Let’s postulate, being very conservative, that two-thirds of those families will not realize that dream.  That still leaves 7.6 million families that will purchase a second home, more than doubling the number of vacation homes nationwide.

What do people look for in a vacation home?  Good question.  The answer is either water - an ocean, lake, or river - or mountains.  Not too many families want their getaway to be in rural Iowa or downtown Cleveland.  Naturally, Cape May County has the Atlantic Ocean, along with wide, sandy beaches, moderate temperatures, and it’s easily accessible by car from anywhere in the middle Atlantic states.  We’re not Maine, we’re not Florida, in weather extremes or distance.  Thank heavens!

Obviously, affluence has a lot to do with where second home families originate.  The highest median home price is in California, so that would be the best market.  Hawaii and Washington, DC are second and third, but they’re too small for the home prices to mean much.  The next “real” market is Massachusetts in fourth place, then New Jersey is fifth. 

Metropolitan New York City with 18.7 million people, Philadelphia and its suburbs with 5.8 million people, along with all of New Jersey, are the primary sources for folks interested in buying second homes at the South Jersey seashore.  All are within a two and a half hour drive, the accepted norm.  That is a tremendous pool of families from which to draw potential vacation home owners.

The demographics are a strong argument why Cape May County’s real estate market will continue to grow and prosper.  One figure still sticks in my mind - 22.8 million households expect there’s a good chance they’ll buy a second home in the next 10 years.  Kinda gives me goosebumps.

- Mountain Man

I got a call recently from a real estate client.  Whenever the mood hits him, he phones us to find out the real estate market conditions here in Cape May County, New Jersey, and more specifically in the Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest shore area.  He knows we have our finger on the pulse of the market.  And he knows I always have an opinion, good or bad.  There’s no BS.

Our conversation began with my monologue on how busy we have been since mid-Summer, 2007.  He heard the same thing from me back in October during our last talk.  “It’s still going great,” I added.  “We’ve just had plenty of closings in January and February, plus we’ve got several more properties ‘under contract’ and we’re in active negotiations on a few other deals.”

Sounds like typical realtor hype, right?  Actually not.  This client knows that when the market started to stall in mid-2005, even though few recognized it, we were quick to alert anyone who’d listen that it was NOT the time to buy.  Conditions were changing.  We could just sense it.  Something was amiss.

Just like a recession, the signal that a real estate market is going up off the charts or down into the hopper isn’t generally acknowledged until you are a half year or more into it.  The thinking is that it isn’t a trend until it has been sustained for a while.  That’s fair enough.

By 2006, much to the chagrin of City Girl, I openly admitted that, as realtors, we were losing our shirts.  The real estate market was dead, the phones weren’t ringing, and we went weeks at a time without any walk-in traffic.  It was disheartening.  And we told our clients so.  Honesty is so much more refreshing than deceit, and definitely easier on your conscience.

Fast forward to my recent phone call.  “Give me a reason to buy now,” the client queried, “Why buy?”  I was ready.

“Give me a reason to NOT buy,” I quipped.  “Interest rates are at near historic lows, inventory is plentiful, and the range of selection is great.  And as you know, prices are down $100,000 to $150,000 or more from 2005.”

“Remember all those sellers you were envious of back in 2003 and 2004?  The ones who had bought in the bad real estate market times of the late 1990s,” I continued.  “You thought how smart they were to be cashing out on their investment a few years later and making $100,000 or more, sometimes much more.  Well, the cycle is repeating.”

“You’re right,” he said, the wheels turning in his mind.  “Tell you what.  Email me some investment property listings, then I’ll pick a few and we’ll go look at them this weekend.” 

 ”Is Saturday or Sunday better for you?”, I replied, knowing that another client - and friend - was about to make some money.

- Mountain Man

To find out more about investment properties in Cape May County, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Many folks are fooled by the lack of new construction activity here in the Wildwoods and throughout the island communities of Cape May County.  “I knew it would never happen,” the backseat drivers shout about new 20+ story hotel/resort projects touted in the newspapers but not yet started.  They are wrong.

In the state of New Jersey, any new construction project that is within 300 feet of water, has more than 24 units, or more than 48 parking spots, needs a CAFRA permit.  This Coastal Areas Facility Review Act, administered by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, is a thorough and lengthy process.  It takes a minimum of two years to two and a half years to obtain the CAFRA permit, and in the case of the seven high-rise hotels in Wildwood, can take four years.

So while developers are exerting an inordinate amount of effort and $100,000 or more in fees for their environmental attorneys, engineers, architects, and endless environmental studies, an uneducated Joe Public sits on the sidelines and proudly pronounces the project DOA.

Unfortunately, these uninformed zealots are given a public forum to make their opinions widely known.  In the local weekly county newspaper there is a gutless section called “Spout Off”.  In it, anyone can basically say anything and push it off as fact.  Right or wrong, it is printed.  The authors don’t have to sign their name.  It’s a disgrace!

The newspaper is owned by a far right, ultra-conservative snob who labels wind power and solar power band-aids, global warming a left-wing hoax, and promotes the drilling of the arctic and nuclear power.  He’s a small town version of William Loeb and his Manchester Union Leader.  You can see why he not only allows this journalistic embarrassment, he’s proud of it.

Anyway, Spout Off perpetuates the so-called decline of the real estate market and the county in general by letting these ”doom and gloom” know-it-alls have their say.  Then more naive citizens read it and believe it.  Soon they talk about it in public as if it was fact.  After all, they read it in the newspaper so it must be right.  Right?  Wrong.

The truth is that these projects, along with large hotel complexes in Cape May, North Wildwood, and Diamond Beach are moving along, slow but sure.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.

As realtors, we see more and more developers in the area looking for tracts large enough to host more hotel or condominium projects.  At our agency, we have several conglomerates with upwards of $100,000,000 to invest in the shore area of Cape May County.  We are constantly calling them with leads on new vacant properties, along with faxing and emailing tax maps, lot descriptions, comparative market analyses, and more.

Large projects don’t happen overnight.  From concept to completion is about an eight year process.  Unknown to most local residents, that concept faze is already underway!  The developers are busy shaping the county’s future, secure in the belief that the real estate market is on the brink of another boom.

- Mountain Man

To learn more about the Cape May County real estate market, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com

Having been a mathematics major in college, I’m understandably enamored with numbers.  Talk is talk, but numbers give substance.  There’s nothing like good, hard numbers to bring a topic into focus, to cut down on speculation and misleading conclusions.

Let’s see if the demographics support that the real estate market in Cape May County will see another boom.  Not just a rebound, which is already happening, but a boom!  It’s an interesting prospect, one that many insiders like myself support and others just can’t fathom.

The state of New Jersey has a population of 8.724 million people.  The median age is 38.2 years, with 12.9 percent of folks 65 or older.  The median household income is $64,470 and the homeownership rate is 67.3 percent, meaning two-thirds live in a home they own.  Of adults, 33.4% have a college Bachelor’s degree, and 12.4% have even higher degrees.

What this all means is that New Jerseyans, on the whole, are pretty well off.  The median household income in the entire country is $48,451, so we’re a third higher.  New Jersey has the highest percentage of millionaires in the USA.  Throw in metropolitan Philadelphia and suburban New York City, and there’s a lot of affluence in our region.  All this fuels the second home market, which comprises half of all properties in Cape May County.

Experts keep tossing out that 40,000 new employees will be needed in the Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland county region.  Most of this is centered on Atlantic City, whose 11 casinos already employ 40,788 people.  Several casino expansions are in the works, with at least three new casinos slated. 

MGM Mirage will be breaking ground within a year on its $5 billion megaresort, located on 72 acres next to the Borgata.  This largest resort in AC, scheduled to open in 2012, will feature 50 stories, 3,000 hotel rooms, a 7,500 seat concert arena, and a half million square feet of space for retail, restaurants, and entertainment.  Revel Entertainment has already broken ground on a $2 billion casino complex, located on the strip next to the Showboat, slated to open in 2010.  Pinnacle Entertainment, which tore down the aging Sands Casino last October, should have their new $1.5 billion casino in operation by 2012.

With 128-acre Bader Field going out to bid in the next year, the possibility of another mega-casino, or up to four smaller casinos, will add to the need for new employees.  So where will all these new employees live?  Rounded off, the current yearround populations of the three counties are Atlantic 250,000, Cumberland 150,000, and Cape May 100,000.

Let’s suppose that keeping with the statistics, two-thirds of the 40,000, or 26,680 will purchase their own home.  Forget the island communities, where summer folks have driven up prices.  I’m talking about Longport, Ventnor, Margate, Ocean City, Sea Isle, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May, etc - places where a single family home would be prohibitively expensive for a working family employed by casinos, retail, or restaurants.

That leaves the mainland towns.  Arguably, Egg Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton townships, all Atlantic County towns situated in the Pinelands “growth zone”, would pick up the brunt of the new residents.  But many families will look to live a little farther from the hustle and bustle of the AC area. 

Cape May County, just a 20-35 mile commute, fits the bill.  The mainland communities - Lower, Middle, Dennis, and Upper townships, plus Woodbine - currently have 822 single family homes listed for sale.  With the number of housing developments already approved in those towns doubling the number, that’s about 1,600 available homes.  An influx of 40,000 people over the next half dozen years or so will surely result in most of those homes being snapped up.

In the world of supply and demand, especially in real estate, this demand will create more building and higher prices on the mainland.  Doesn’t that add up?

Throw in the seven 20+ story hotel/resort projects on the books in Wildwood now awaiting NJDEP approval, and a couple big resorts upcoming in North Wildwood and Diamond Beach, and you have the recipe for another real estate boom.  Numbers don’t lie.

- Mountain Man

To learn more about the Cape May County real estate market, visit our website at www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com