Fed tapering, new mortgage requirements in 2014, rising interest rates…the sky is falling. Or is it? While stricter lending requirements may pose a challenge to some buyers and housing prices are rising in New Jersey I still believe that we are and will remain in a Seller’s market for one very good reason. That reason is lack of inventory. I have been speaking with bankers who have high net worth clients that just can’t seem to find what they are looking for in their target areas. The result is that they are renting.
There is a profusion of rentals that have recently been built, notably a beautiful development off Route 9 in Howell. These townhome rentals boast garages and that is a big plus especially during cold winter months. Who really likes chipping ice off a windshield?
So what will all these new stricter requirements really mean to a buyer? Basically the requirements insure that the borrowers have a reasonably good chance of paying back the loans. Their debt to ratio costs will be a major factor as will credit scores and income. FHA loans will be smaller than in years past and larger loans will be considered jumbo loans requiring a much heftier down payment. The days of don’t ask don’t tell predatory lending are over. Thank God! It was not good for the economy and devastated many families all in the name of greed.
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Statistics are revealing that most buyers no longer view their homes as ATM machines and are actually planning on staying in their homes longer. Estimates are 15 years now as opposed to 10 years on average. Good schools are still a big draw as well as shopping areas, shorter commute times, parks and safety.
Howell has so many wonderful attributes. We have excellent shopping on 9, restaurants, home improvement big box stores, parks such as the Manasquan Reservoir and easy access for commuters not to mention a very good school system. Given the value that Howell offers most houses are really quite underpriced. There is tremendous value in Howell real estate and we will see steady and orderly growth in home prices. What we need is more inventory but people are just not listing as many homes as the market demands. As we learned in school supply and demand drive prices.
Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
2014 promises to be a great year. I wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
If you will be buying or selling a home now or in the future I would love the opportunity to earn your business. My motto is Give me a call – I’ll give you my all.
Edward Monti
REALTOR®-Associate
Exit Prestige Realty
3352 Highway 9
Freehold, NJ 07728
Bus: 732-462-5439
Cell: 732- 492 7126
