NJ real estate

[Sleeping~Beauty]

Yes, I am. I wish you luck in your house hunting!

 

[puggymom]

I'm in Essex County and you can't touch anything for under 400K in my town. I'm talking ranches and capes for that money, anything larger and you are looking at 500k and up. I am so glad I bought when I did as I am outrpiced in my town now. They putting up e new development where condos are starting at 600k, townhomes 800k and single fmaily 1 mil+.

 

[dani0622]

Yes, I am. I wish you luck in your house hunting!

Thanks!

Puggymom- LOVE that pic (love pugs!)

 

[jel0511]

Wow! We've had to look away at a few places after we found out the taxes! My in-laws had to sell their house (it was too big for them anyway at this point in their lives) and buy a condo mostly because their taxes were getting close to $10,000 (Essex county).

I'd kill for taxes under $10k

 

[chrissyk]

I was under the impression that property taxes were the real problem in NJ (not that housing prices aren't high there, though!). I don't know how most people can keep up with property taxes that are that high. I know that I couldn't. Some of the NJ property taxes that I've read about here on the Dis are higher than the mortgage payment was on our 1st house!

 

[JVL1018]

The house prices here in Bergen County are insane, as are the taxes. If I was just starting out and had to buy a house now, I'd be in big trouble.
I have NO idea how people afford a house without having one to sell. Honestly.

 

[noseybuddy]

I live in SJ, Gloucester County. Bought my house about 8 years ago, new, paid about $210. Now They are selling from $300 - $350. Taxes are high here also.

 

[Laura24]

I was under the impression that property taxes were the real problem in NJ (not that housing prices aren't high there, though!). I don't know how most people can keep up with property taxes that are that high. I know that I couldn't. Some of the NJ property taxes that I've read about here on the Dis are higher than the mortgage payment was on our 1st house!

Housing prices are a problem...Northwest Jersey was the best kept secret for quite sometime. However, as developers ran out of places to develop south of Morris + Sussex counties, and before the Highlands act was passed, everything that could be developed was grabbed up and developed and with that came the need for expansions or new construction of schools and with schools came the increase of taxes. It's a vicious cycle. In NJ...you need three incomes to keep up. Oh, and don't let us start on car insurance rates!!!!

 

[NJBlackBerry]

Did someone mention car insurance??????

I read the real estate transactions every week and am always amazed at the prices. I couldn't afford to move if I wanted to. And my house would sell for $600,000 easily. And that is a LOT more than I paid for it.

 

[Chicago526]

WOW, and I thought the Chicago area was getting bad! You can't touch a house in the NW suburbs for less than $250,000 in most areas, and those are fixer-uppers. You want something nice, try $350,000 to $500,000. The few areas that do have cheaper housing are NOT places you want to live! We got so lucky, we bought in Elgin for $186,000. But it was that cheap because the school district has such a bad rep, and Elgin has a high hispanic popluation (we don't care, but a lot of people do so they don't buy here). But the school district is improving and with no other options, I think prices in Elgin will skyrocket soon, too (which is good for us, but bad for first time buyers). Had I not bought my condo (my first home) in 2001, we would never had been able to afford a house in 2005. My condo went up in value almost 50% in 4 years. And that was a condo, not even a house!

I wonder if areas like NJ, NY and CA are going to see the housing bubble burst soon. With interest rates rising and consumer debt at an all time high, I think fewer people will be able to buy homes.

 

[chrissyk]

I wonder if areas like NJ, NY and CA are going to see the housing bubble burst soon. With interest rates rising and consumer debt at an all time high, I think fewer people will be able to buy homes.

The bubble already seems to be bursting in MA at least. I still shake my head when I think of what we sold our old house for last year. I have NO idea why anyone would pay that much for a small house in a town with bad schools Sanity has to prevail eventually...I think.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

In our area it is leveling off (Florida on the coast)---possibly bursting. More homes on teh market--for not as high as they were projected to be...and I saw my first "avoid foreclosure" advertisement--near a posh neighborhood. I thought it a choice location for such a sign.

I think it will all catch up b/c many are doing "creative" financing--aka interest-only loans.

 

[imsorry]

I've never understood all the complaints about car insurance in NJ - we used to be insured in NY and it was DOUBLE what we pay now.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

In our area it is leveling off (Florida on the coast)---possibly bursting. More homes on teh market--for not as high as they were projected to be...and I saw my first "avoid foreclosure" advertisement--near a posh neighborhood. I thought it a choice location for such a sign.

I think it will all catch up b/c many are doing "creative" financing--aka interest-only loans.

Forclosures on the creatively financed houses seem inevitable. It's just a matter of time.

 

[mtemm]

The bubble already seems to be bursting in MA at least. I still shake my head when I think of what we sold our old house for last year. I have NO idea why anyone would pay that much for a small house in a town with bad schools Sanity has to prevail eventually...I think.

probably because they needed to buy a house and that was the going rate. we just bought in MA and are horrified at what we paid for our house...but honestly unless we wanted to stop owning a home, there wasn't much of a choice. Just hoping we end up making some money on it. And at least our house is a nice house in what I hope is a decent area.

what amazed me most on our house-hunt in MA (and we looked in so many towns we had 6 agents) was what some people really thought they were going to get for their houses, even in this market. For instance, in Easton we saw a 4 bedroom colonial that was falling apart...literally, falling apart. The owners had priced it at the same price that 4 bedrooms that were in good shape were going for. I'm wondering if there even would have been a question as to them getting it when the market was a bit hotter, but I would be shocked if they got it now. There are a few other houses that were obviously overpriced...I keep watching this one in Franklin that was adorable but really overpriced compared to others we saw in that town.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

probably because they needed to buy a house and that was the going rate. we just bought in MA and are horrified at what we paid for our house...but honestly unless we wanted to stop owning a home, there wasn't much of a choice. Just hoping we end up making some money on it.

Oddly our buyers already owned a perfectly fine house a couple of miles away in the same town! They also sold FSBO for a crazy price after they put in their offer on ours. I guess that they just wanted a different house. If I were them, I would have at least looked for an upgrade in school system for that kind of money...they had their kid in private school as it was, because the schools in our old town were pretty bad.

If you plan to stay in your house for a while, you have nothing to be horrified about I'm sure. You'll do fine in the long run. At least MA doesn't have the horrid property taxes of NJ or NH.

 

[mtemm]

No, oddly our buyers already owned a perfectly fine house a couple of miles away in the same town! They also sold FSBO for a crazy price after they put in their offer on ours. I guess that they just wanted a different house. If I were them, I would have at least looked for an upgrade in school system for that kind of money...they had their kid in private school as it was, because the schools in our old town were pretty bad.

If you plan to stay in your house for a while, you have nothing to be horrified about I'm sure. You'll do fine in the long run. At least MA doesn't have the horrid property taxes of NJ or NH.

unfortunately our towns taxes are really high for some reason. but having just moved from ny we feel like it isn't quite as bad. and my parents are getting very annoyed with their taxes in nh.

I agree, if I were going to move in the same area, I would have looked for a better school system at the very least...I mean, the hassel and expense of moving would not be worth it to me unless we were getting upgraded somewhere.

As for us, its likely we will only be here for a couple of years, but a move would (knock wood) most likely mean a promotion for my dh so would be a good thing.

 

[staci]

Our house taxes are around $1600 a year. At our old house they were $1200. I cant IMAGINE having to think in figures as high as what you all are talking about! I mean, obviously salaries are much higher on the coast than in the midwest, but WOW. We bought our first house at 22. Was the best decision we ever made, as we now have quite a bit of equity in our new one.

 

[jel0511]

Our house taxes are around $1600 a year. At our old house they were $1200. I cant IMAGINE having to think in figures as high as what you all are talking about! I mean, obviously salaries are much higher on the coast than in the midwest, but WOW. We bought our first house at 22. Was the best decision we ever made, as we now have quite a bit of equity in our new one.

A YEAR!!! WOW!!!! I PAY THAT AMOUNT ON AVERAGE MONTHLY!!!!!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

A YEAR!!! WOW!!!! I PAY THAT AMOUNT ON AVERAGE MONTHLY!!!!!