Welcome to December's Market Update, the second installment of my evolving monthly newsletter, proving current and helpful information on the Maplewood/South Orange (and immediate environs) real estate markets.  As always, I'd love to hear from you with any feedback and suggestions.  So thanks for reading, and looking forward to satisfying your real estate needs!  Most important, I wish each and all of you and your loved ones the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous holiday season and New Year ever!

Insider Tips for Buying and Selling
Notwithstanding lower prices traditonally associated with the onslaught of the winter months, Sellers in Maplewood/South Orange and our surrounding towns will to the contrary continue to benefit from higher home prices in December as inventory continues to decline.  With fewer houses to compete against, listing your home now could fetch top dollar.  Buyers should likewise consider if now might also be an ideal time to pull the trigger, as mortgage rates continue to trend upwards with home ownership likely be increasingly costly for the forseeable time. For a free no obligation market analysis of your home, please give me a call.   

Interest rates have once again turned upward after correcting for a speculative bump generated by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve's intentions on curtailing unconventional monetary policy. Consumers should note that rates may spike again leading up to Federal Open Market Committee meetings in December, but will likely continue a slow upward trend in the long run. Currently, Freddie Mac reports the following, figures: 

Type	Rate
30-year fixed	4.22%
15-year fixed	3.27%
5/1 ARM	2.75%
Historical Average	8.9%

December 11, 2013

In This Issue

Here's my top 5 choices this week for homes in the area.   All these homes offer one or more of the following:
 *quality renovation
* investor flip potential
* location/price combination   Check them out!    P.S. If you don't see all 5 homes here, it means they've sold that quickly!