Welcome to the May Market Update, providing current information on the Maplewood/South Orange real estate markets, as well as the surrounding towns. The market remains hot as we enter the spring season. As always, I'd love to hear from you with any feedback and suggestions. So, thanks for reading, and I look forward to satisfying any real estate needs you might have.
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Locally
Despite the rise in inventory in Maplewood and its surrounding towns, competition remains intense for Buyers as we head into late May. Although there are more homes on the market, if they are priced right, they are still selling quickly with multiple bids. We anticipate this to continue through to late June when schools break for summer. This past month, on average, houses in Maplewood and South Orange sold at 98-99% of their list price. However, homes that were priced under the competition and showed well traded at 10% -12% over asking.
Nationally
 | | This Month in Real Estate May 2014 |
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Insider Tips for Buying and Selling If you're a Buyer and tired of losing bids, here are some things you can do to strengthen your offer in addition to raising the price: - For a house that is tough to find comparable sales prices, waiving the appraisal can put you ahead of your competition and win you the house. This is only viable if you are putting down more than 20% and/or have cash to cover the difference should it not appraise fully;
- On a pristine home, consider not asking for any home inspection credits;
- Write a letter to the Seller(s) complementing them on their home, the renovations, the fact that they've successfully raised their children, provided for their family, etc.
- If at all possible, do not have the deal contingent on selling your current home.
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Interest Rates
Rates dipped slightly from March to April as they continued to hover in the 4.3% to 4.4% range. Rates will likely follow a slow upward trend into the future; however, volatility in several global markets has led to some fluctuation in mortgage rates. Currently, Freddie Mac reports the following figures: 30-year fixed rate, 4.33%; 15-year fixed rate, 3.39%; 5/1-year adjustable rate, 3.03%.
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| Type | Rate | | 30-year fixed | 4.33% | | 15-year fixed | 3.39% | | 5/1 ARM | 3.03% | | Historical Average | 8.9% |
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HOT VALUES NOW!
Maplewood/South Orange
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!
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