Mountain Man and City Girl

Let’s face it, some people just love to bring bad news.  We all had our first experience with this type of individual when we were still kids.  They were the brats that let you know that your fly was down, your cat was up a tree, your bicycle had a flat tire, etc, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy conveying that bad news.

As adults, those grown up brats are called “Doom and Gloom” people.  Same modus operandi; your car is being recalled, your hair’s thinning out, your belly’s getting bigger, your stocks are taking a dive.  They regale in seeing you squirm, feel embarrassed or downright depressed.

Unfortunately for us as realtors, we seem to attract an excessive amount of doom and gloomers.  They started surfacing in late 2004, letting us know that the real estate market was just a boom and a big bust was to follow.  They were partly right, but their smugness put an ugliness to their message.

Now that the overpriced market has dropped prices to more reasonable levels, the doom and gloomers have picked up on the mortgage foreclosure aspect of real estate.  That’s their new whipping boy at the company coffee pot.

Three recent phone calls from clients in the Philadelphia area and North Jersey suburbs had a familiar ring.  “I hear there’s 1500 condos being foreclosed on in Wildwood.” Another said 2000, and the other claimed 2200.  Their source is always, “Somebody said …” or “I heard it from a reliable source”.

Here’s the facts.  Our island consists of the vacation destinations of Wildwood, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach.  In those communities, as of today (Jan 16, 2008), there are 1147 condominiums and townhomes for sale.  Of those, nine are bank owned, meaning they’ve already been foreclosed on.  In addition, the county sheriff’s website lists 16 more properties currently in the foreclosure process.  So these five beachside towns have a whopping 25 foreclosures.  Not 1500, not 2000, certainly not 2200. 

So what makes some folks so intent on repeating such blatantly false numbers to anyone who will listen?  The result of their tattling is that the word soon gets out that the Wildwoods are crumbling.  “It’ll become a ghost town”, they say.

The truth is that they aren’t making anymore seashore or beachfront.  It’s in demand.  Baby boomers have worked hard all their lives and know they want to enjoy the fruits of their labors.  What better way than a home at the shore.

Our real estate market is 95% second homes.  They are mostly folks who own their own business or have a high paying corporate job.  They can afford to buy a $400,000 to $700,000 vacation home.  They don’t need sub-prime loans, they don’t need interest only loans. 

New Jersey holds the distinction of having the most millionaires – 7.12% of households, and that doesn’t count equity in their primary home.  That’s a lot of affluence, and a lot of them find their way to our island.

So to the doom and gloomers:  The real estate market here is just fine, thank you!  By the way, is that your real hair color?

- Mountain Man