To Buy or Rent -- That is the Question

Today's NY Times includes an interactive calculator to help decision makers resolve one of life's biggest quandaries. If you're currently renting, the rate of rent increase is easier to estimate than the homeowners potential appreciation.

Vote Early and Vote Often!

You don't have to wait for our local primary on June 2 to vote here! We're late comers in the running for best Real Estate blog in the U.S.
Early birds are more than welcome in this poll. Just click on the blue & white thumb on the right. The voting ends on June 1.

Memorial Day -- Bloomfield

Super Charged

With gas prices going through the roof, you can't deny the allure of a zero emission vehicle. We’re always excited to see more sustainable transportation options for consumers, especially when they go from concept to completely available. The TRIAC is the latest in a fleet of rechargables designed by Green Vehicles, is a three wheeled highway capable plug-in electric vehicle that is ready to achieve up to 80mph on the open road. This fun, fast, eco-friendly ride is set to go on sale in time for summer road trips!

Home Prices Jump in Montclair

Montclair seems to be defying both state and national drops in home prices.
According to first quarter stats from city-data.com. The Bloomfield chart is more typical of the NJ market. The lower number of sales for each suggest incomplete numbers. It would only take a few Mega-mansions in Montclair to skew the stats.(Click on graphic to enlarge)

NJ Home Sales Up 4 Percent

Sales volume of existing single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops in the first quarter of 2008 increased 4 percent from the same period last year, indicating New Jersey continues to defy national real estate trends. According to statistics released by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) on May 13, New Jersey's seasonally adjusted annual rate of home sales equaled 169,600.

If you're looking for a great home in the Bloomfield/Nutley area, drop in to my Open House Sunday August 17, from 1 pm to 4 pm, at 186 Sadler Rd(Off E. Passaic near the Nutley line). For more info call me at 917-370-6400.

From Toilet to Tap: LA Plans to Recycling Sewerage

From The LA Times:
With vital and often-distant water sources shrinking, Los Angeles officials will revive a controversial proposal to recycle wastewater as part of a plan to curb usage and move the city toward greater water independence.

Vote Wherever

Tomorrow is election day in many NNJ towns, but this E. Passaic Ave sign caught our eye because:

1) It photo layout blends in with nearby Realtor's "for sale" yard signs?

2) It wasn't surrounded by dozens of other candidate signs?

3) It brought nostalgic memories for Bloomfield's ex-town manager who was nudged out of his job for spending too much time at his Nutley post.

4) He's become a magnet for controversy for pressuring town employees to help out on the NJO forums.

5) The signs are in Bloomfield. He's running in Nutley.



Answer: 5

NJ Real Estate at a Glance

The first step in buying a home is determining how much home you can afford.
Then you can look in towns and neighborhoods that have the most appealing homes in your price range.
The NJ Star Ledger "By the Numbers" web site can facilitate the search. with neighborhood breakdowns like this one from Clifton.(Click on picture to enlarge)
In the next few weeks we'll link to more local economic maps.

First $2-Billion Home Going Up

Forbes reports that the world’s largest and most expensive home will be completed in January.The 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai, India, will be the residence of Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita. Ambani, head of Mumbai-based petrochemical company Reliance Industries, is the fifth richest man in the world.

The couple who have three children, are custom designing their $2 billion property with help from architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Assoc., based in Dallas and Los Angeles respectively.

The home will have 400,000 square feet of interior space, nine elevators, a ballroom and a section for security guards and assistants to relax.
There will also be an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat and be dusted by man-made snow flurries. The Ambani home as already been declared to be one of the five towers that define the 21st Century.