Ratio of "Distressed" Sales for February 2009, in Toms River, NJ

February 2009 ECHOED January 2009 when it came to the number of "distressed" sales CLOSED between $200,000 and $250,000:

8 Single Family Homes CLOSED in February between $200,000&$250,000

3 were "Short Sales"
2 were "REO's" or Bank Owned
3 were "Traditional" Sales

So, once again in 2009, over half the CLOSINGS between $200,000 and $250,000, in February 2009, were "Distressed Sales"!

As we get into the "Spring Selling Season", it will be interesting to see if this trend continues or diminishes. Remember; the homes that CLOSED in January and February, went UNDER CONTRACT in November, December and January!

Stay tuned...

Monthly Market Report for Toms River, NJ – February 2009

February by the numbers:

• 31 The number of Single Family Homes CLOSED during the month

• $411,706 Average LIST price for February*

• $390,029 Average SALES price for the month*

• 97 Average DAYS ON the MARKET for February

• 94.73% The SALES price to LIST price RATIO for the month

• 708 Number of Single Family Homes ACTIVE on the market in February

• 22.83 Number of MONTHS it would take to SELL OFF the existing supply of homes on the market, in Toms River, at this rate, if NONE were to come on the market!

*These averages include Single Family Homes from the beach communities of Ortley, Normandy and Ocean, etc.

February 2009 saw 31 Single Family Homes CLOSE in Toms River, as compared with 48 in February of 2008. Of those 31 homes, 8 were in the price range of $200,000 to $250,000 (more than 25%). Combined with the CLOSINGS from January 2009, this represents an increase in SALES of 55%, in this particular price range, over the same time last year!

Tomorrow, I will post the same breakdown as last month; as to what percentage of these SALES were “distressed” properties (bank owned and/or short sales).

"Crisis or Catastrophe"? How about Opportunity?

In his excellent article, Have We All Lost the Ability to Think for Ourselves? Randy Eager masterfully illustrates the stranglehold our national media outlets have over public perception!

He specifically quotes the following headlines from the New York Times over the last 30 days:

"Plunging Housing Markets . . . Down Again"

"Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop"

"Bank Closures at All Time High in 2008" "Credit Crisis Waves Roll On"

"Growing Market in Foreclosures"

"Foreclosure Rates Show No Sign of Slowing"

"States Unemployment Funds Run Low"

And we wonder why we are on the verge of a "Crisis or Catastrophe"? If all we continue to see, read & hear is misinformation, and it is MISINFORMATION, then it manifests itself into reality because, "perception is reality"! So, what do we NEED to do? We need to dispel all the misinformation and broadcast the TRUTH:

"Bank Closures at an All Time High in 2008". Hogwash!

In 1989 there were 1,004 bank closures.

In 2008 there were 30 bank closures

On average there are 94 bank closures per year
"Foreclosure Rates Show No Sign of Slowing". Baloney!

During the Great Depression Foreclosure Rates were 50%
Nationally today our Foreclosure Rates are 3% (1.4% in Utah)
"States Unemployment Funds Run Low". Ridiculous!

During the Great Depression Unemployment ran at 25%
Nationally today our Unemployment is 7.2%

Perhaps, our newly elected President, himself, should take the LEAD and inspire HOPE instead of FEAR!

Dear Mr. President,

You were elected on a platform of "Change". Please live up to your words and follow them with your actions! This is not the time for the "same old, same old". This is the time for LEADERSHIP!

I did not vote for you because I did not, and still do not, believe in you. Please prove me wrong!

Sincerely,

Jim Flanagan

I realize that I am but one voice in a sea of many but if anyone feels the same way I do, and Randy Eager does, please speak now, write now and let's FOCUS on the "reality" not the "perception"!

Monthly Market Report for Toms River, NJ-January 2009

Toms River, NJ, Monthly Market Report (January 2009)

January 2009 saw an increase in buyer activity after a dismal December 2008! Apparently, the First Time Homebuyer finally accepted the fact that mortgage rates were not going to get much lower, despite what some of the National Media had misreported in December. Unfortunately, January's numbers reflect the fear and uncertainty felt by the American Consumer in November and December. We'll have to wait and see in the next two months, how many buyers actually came off the fence in January!

Compared to the same time last year in Toms River, NJ (January 2008 vs January 2009):

Sales of Single Family Homes were down from 60 to 49
The Average Sales Price was down from $310,261 to $300,244
Days on the market remained steady at 102 to 105
The Sales Price to List Price Ratio fell from 95% to 92%

There was, however, an INCREASE in activity in ONE PARTICULAR category; Sales of Single family Homes in the $200,000 to $250,000, INCREASED by 50% over the same time last year (from 6 to 9)!

"Manifest Your Goals"-Step 5

STEP 5: Connect Deeply with Everyone, Step Over No One!

In order to "Manifest Our Goals", we need to "connect deeply with everyone we meet and accept them for who they are, not who we want them to be"!

"Stink and ugly is where it's at!"

How often have we "curb-side" qualified somebody based on their initial appearance? It could have been a potential client, a potential boyfriend/girlfriend or group member. How many of those people could have helped us? How many could we have helped? How many of us look at our friends on facebook and think, WOW, they grew up good! Or, they turned out for the better!

"The KEY here is FLEXIBILITY!"

We must be willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, including ourselves! as Matthew and Thach put it:

"Total and coplete acceptance of ALL people, in ALL situations, at ALL times, including yourself...HMMM!"

Broker/Agent Social Network - Matthew Ferry's video - How to Manifest Your Goals - Step 4

Broker/Agent Social Network - Matthew Ferry's video - How to Manifest Your Goals - Step 4

"Tell EVERYONE what you are Manifesting!"

"Nobody CARES what you are up to UNLESS you CARE about what they are up to!"

"Get OUT of yourself and INTO others!"

"Nobody can HELP you if you don't HELP them!"

"Commit to HELPING others!"

WOW! The truth rings loud and clear in this step! How often have we, ourselves, "turned off" listening to someone tell us all about themselves because we knew they couldn't CARE LESS about us...and...how infrequently have we been DELIGHTED by the sincerity of someone who TRULY CARES about us and/or our situation? Which person are we more likely to remember and want to HELP?

Broker/Agent Social Network - Matthew Ferry's video - How to Manifest Your Goals - Step 3

Broker/Agent Social Network - Matthew Ferry's video - How to Manifest Your Goals - Step 3

"Don't worry about the HOW!"

Here's where we get confused. As real estate practitioners, we are trained and coached on our written business plans:

First; set the financial goal you plan to achieve.

HOW many "closed sales" will you need to achieve that goal?
HOW many "open sales" will you need to get the "closed sales" you need?
HOW many sales will come from buyers?
HOW many "buyer appointments" will you need?
HOW many sales will come from sold listings?
HOW many listings will you need?

and so on, and so on...

According to Thach and Matthew, we shouldn't worry about the HOW. We should FOCUS on the "Contribution Game" and let the GOAL materialize!