|
|
-
|
Real estate activity in Ocean City NJ is up more than 25% in the first
quarter of 2012 compared with the previous year. Those of us who
remember the seemingly unending snowstorms of 2011 wonder whether this
is all about increasing sales, or if the significantly better weather
this year was a factor.
Although sunshine and warmer weather
make for more comfortable shopping for beach houses, at least in person,
it appears that the market is improving faster than the weather. Even
2011, with its abyssmal winter weather, showed a 27% improvement in
units placed under contract in the first quarter compared with 2010, and
2012 was another 28% improved from 2011. Properties closing the first
quarter each year have shown similar improvements, with January through
March 2011 recording 38% more units closed than 2010, and 2012 showing
another 24.5% improvement over 2011.
So what is selling? The big
winner so far this year is the condo, with closings up 28.6% and
contracts of sale up 24.5% in the first quarter compared to 2011. Condo
prices remain stable, with no discernable trend so far. Single family
home activity is stable, but median sold prices have gone up 15% in the
same period. Multi-family sales are much improved, but it is a segment
of the market that had nowhere to go but up. More than twice as many
multi-family properties were sold and/or placed under contract in the
first quarter of 2012 than in the same period the year before.
We
are seeing would-be buyers who have watched properties sit unsold on
the internet, waiting for the right moment to make an offer, get shut
out when someone else who was doing the same thing actually came to town
and made an offer. So why wait? The weather is beautiful, and the
sale property inventory, at its lowest since 2005, is not expected to
grow. The interest rates are still hovering near historical lows, and
seasonal summer rentals are going fast. 2012 may be the year for you to
finally buy your seashore home.
|
-
Spring has come early to the Jersey Shore. Here in Ocean City the pear trees are in full bloom, the daffodils are already fading and the early tulips are opening their faces to the sun. Each morning's walk with our hound Macy brings a new surprise. The male cardinal who sang every morning from a budding bush has now found a mate; a daring squirrel tempts fate from atop a nearby stump, and the mourning doves coo from the wires overhead. While enjoying a "scratch and sniff" tour along the dune line on East Atlantic Boulevard yesterday, Macy paused, turned and sat, and showed no interest in going further. She is a sight hound, and something had caught her eye. A quick scan behind showed nothing, until I raised my sunglasses and looked in the shadows. There he was, tip-toeing along the dune fence in his high black stockings, his pointy nose close to the ground, and his magnificent plume of a tail showing flashes of white against his auburn coat. Our local fox was back, looking for rabbits or other prey. I watched Macy watch him, then watched him again. I looked again at Macy, then looked back, and he had vanished. We have since walked that fence line, looking for holes or other means of disappearance. We have looked for tracks. We have found nothing. The only remnant of his passing is that glimmer of magic memory...and perhaps a faint scent that Macy catches when the wind is right.
|
-
Improved water view lot
• other
-
MLS®
$299,000
- REDUCED! Includes plans
Strathmere, Upper Township
-
The hardest part is complete for this nicely sized bayside lot in charming Strathmere. The septic system is installed and approved, and the plans are approved for a 4BR/4.5BA home with two living levels over the garage, storage and cabana level. Rear balconies will offer bay and ocean views. The Bachich designed home can be modified to your taste, and a local builder has provided a firm quote for completion. Be in Strathmere, in a new home, for under $900,000! More details are available upon request. To make the process of going from an improved lot to a finished home easier, at least one local lender offers construction-to-permanent financing with only one closing. This is a great opportunity if you are looking for a new home in Strathmere and want to add your own touches but not worry about what will be allowed on the lot. This location in the north end of town is an easy walk to the beach, the bay and local restaurants.
Property information
|
-
Gardens Luxury Condo with Ocean Views
• 2,200 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm duplex "Upper unit"
-
MLS®
$1,395,000
Gardens, Ocean City
-
A cut above the rest, this sterling five bedroom, four bath condo offers more than 2,200 square feet of living space with ocean views! From the tiled foyer with hardwood staircase, to the elevator and rooftop deck, this property caters to those looking for the best. The ground floor includes a recreation room, a separate large storage room and a full bath, and the condo itself offers five bedrooms including two suites! The expansive great room has gleaming hardwood floors, a gas fireplace, and a custom kitchen. It opens onto the partially covered front deck that has a great ocean view, and there is a rear deck off the master bedroom. From the rooftop deck, Atlantic City is visible in the distance. This property has never been rented, but would command weekly rents of $5,500 or more.
Property information
|
-
North End, Ocean City
-
Announcing a price reduction
on 839 Fifth Street, a 3 bath, 4 bdrm townhouse "Two story reverse floor plan". Now
MLS®
$609,900
- OCEAN VIEW! REDUCED!!.
Property information
|
-
|
The briny smell of the sea wafts down the side streets, enticing you to head up a ramp to the boardwalk. After the salt air, it is the quiet that you notice. Fifty degrees, no wind and an outgoing tide conspire to reduce any surf to a murmur. The morning sun is starting to break through the haze, but the mist out over the ocean persists. The surface of the sea starts to shimmer with iridescence, broken only by an occasional ripple. An occasional runner passes by, somehow light-footed enough not to make a sound. Shoppers are out looking for last minute gifts or that warm cup of coffee, but even they are silent. You pause and give thanks that you took the bait and came up to look. Peace on earth.
|
-
|
Ocean City continues to grow, and has pulled Somers Point into the loop,
as evidenced by the more than 900 people who braved the chilly, windy
early morning weather to run, jog or stroll across the Route 52 causeway
(Ninth Street Bridge) from Ocean City to Somers Point today. Walkers
had the advantage of being able to look down on the remains of the old
Ninth St. Bridge, look at the second span of the new bridge under
construction, and preview the locations of the new visitor center,
fishing pier and bike path ramps.
Over in Somers Point, the
race finished at Kennedy Park along the bay, and many entrants found
their way to the Point Diner and other stopping points for a hot
breakfast before heading back. The views from the bridge on the Ocean
City side are wonderful and much better on foot than at 35 mph in a
car. I predict that the bike/walk path will be well used once open next
year. Also, there is some discussion about having through bicyclists
ride on the traffic shoulder as they do on the other new bridges, which
will leave the protected path for slower riders and walkers.
There is something going on in Ocean City almost every week year round, so come and visit!
|
-
|
Those who come for a day or week to the barrier islands of South Jersey seldom stray from the beaches and boardwalks. Come for longer, or move to the area, and broaden your journey of exploration. Yesterday, we took a boat trip across the Great Egg Harbor Bay and up the mouth of the Great Egg River. We picked English Creek as our country waterway, and took a hard right, meandering past the old English Creek marina where tumbledown structures, old houseboats and newer craft peacefully coexist. A sole cormorant was perched on a piling, and he followed us with his eyes but so no cause for alarm as we slowly motored by. The marsh grasses were still wearing their bright summer green, complements of the rains of storms Irene and Lee. The current was being offset by the rising tide, and clouds drifted by overhead. We went as far as we could, stopping at the "bridge" that carries the Somers Point-Mays Landing Road, and saw first hand that a small section of this low span had collapsed downward, causing the roadway to sag. A new bridge is in the works, and the road is closed to traffic. Even hours before high tide, the water was up to the undercarriage of the bridge. Perhaps the new bridge will be high enough to allow through traffic. We turned and headed back downstream, looking unsuccessfully for muskrat huts. We slowed once we reached the river, and enjoyed seeing a large heron gull resting on a weathered channel marker. Around the next bend, just the piling for the next marker remained, and a bald eagle was perched atop it, looking for dinner. We slowed to admire him, and he gave us a golden stare, shook his head and took off. We watched him climb effortlessly into the sky and work his way toward the tree line in the distance. We smiled, sighed, and headed for home.
|
-
Weathering a highly-publicized storm like Irene was a great learning experience. I was lucky enough to have power, cable and internet access throughout the storm, and this is what I learned: 1) The Weather Channel has high entertainment value and can also provide a source for warnings and tips, but its primary function is to attract viewers, not to educate.
2) Local news stations can fall victim as well to the entertainment trap. It is disconcerting to watch a reporter lean into the wind and talk about how hard it is to stand up while someone is riding by behind him on a bicycle.
3) It is invaluable to have access to two specific websites: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ and the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ . I narrowed the map on the NDBC to cover only our region and bookmarked that to make reference easier. Both of these sites are manned and maintained by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), a federal agency whose roots go back to 1807 http://www.noaa.gov/. Their data is the most important source for weather forecasters covering coastal areas. Their sites are easy to use and you can just explore and learn all kinds of things.
4) While the Weather Channel was predicting 75 mile per hour winds in our area with higher gusts, its internet site, www.weather.com was calling for winds at 40 mph, rising to 50 - 60 mph during a three hour window as the eye approached. At the same time, the NDBC offshore buoys that record and transmit wave height, water temperature, air temperature, pressure and wind strength and gusts, were showing wind speeds of no more than 35 knots anywhere from north Jersey to Virginia Beach six hours before the eye of the storm was expected to reach us. At the NHC, the wind probability data was showing that Atlantic City could expect winds of 34 knots or more (about 40 mph), it was highly unlikely that it would see winds over 50 knots (57.5 mph).
5) Because hurricanes are classified by wind speed, everyone focuses on wind. The danger of a huge storm like Irene is that the bigger the storm, the more moisture it holds. Radar during the storm was showing extreme bands of rain to the north and west of the eye, yet the media stayed focused on the what-ifs at the shore and in New York City, not emphasizing the risks of severe flooding to the north. Check out rainfall maps from the storm and you can see that New England had by far the worst flooding, with roads and bridges destroyed in many locations.
6) No one seems to know how to measure a storm surge. The television media kept referring to the surge as "above ground level" while my understanding was that it was measured from mean sea level. Turns out I had it right. You then add the surge to the predicted tide to get an idea of how high the water will be (the storm tide). If the land you are on is at risk of flood at a normal high tide, then it is safe to say that the storm surge would be "above ground level."
7) The projected track was highly accurate. I just got my Saturday Atlantic City Press that had a map of the projected storm track, printed Friday night. Bingo.
8) Real data from my home weather station: Maximum wind speed: a single gust at 62 mph, well below what we have seen in some winter storms. Highest winds from about 4 pm to 9 pm Saturday, with relatively steady 20 - 40 mph following that. More than 9 inches of rain. Having had a station for about six years, I would not want to live near the shore without a good one.
9) TWC (the Weather Channel) is not a good thing to watch if you are in the storm being covered. AMC (American Movie Classics) is much better for the blood pressure and sanity.
|
-
5:00 am, Ocean City NJ. The streets are empty of cars. Rain is light. The wind has died completely after blowing for more than 17 hours. If not for the leaves on the trees, one would think we had just been through a nor'easter. The ocean can be heard, but the sound is no indication of the fury that is Irene. We know that the winds will return, blowing down the street toward the beach as Irene shows us her backside. We have been very fortunate. No power outage, no loss of cable or internet, so we could plot the storm's course via the National Hurricane Center, the National Data Buoy Center, and the ubiquitous Weather Channel. At midnight, the ocean buoys south of us, from the Delaware Bay all the way to Virginia, were reporting winds at or under 35 knots, or about 40 mph. The Weather Channel was still reporting the top wind speeds within the storm, which are not the same as the wind speeds at ground level. We recorded a top gust of 62 mph about 8 pm last night, and our weather station has seen higher many times in the past. We are grateful. We don't see much more rain on the horizon as dawn approaches. We watch the radar, and read reports from friends elsewhere, and know that others have not been so fortunate. Rivers, streams, lakes and ponds are over their banks and it is still raining inland. Trees are down, and many are without power. Here in town, we know only what we can see out our individual windows and doors. A neighbor's lights and a few text messages let us know we are not alone, but as we sit snug on high ground in the north end, we have no idea what is happening in the low lying areas to the south and along the bay front. Soon, dawn will break and we will be able to see all the way to the dune line and know how well it has held. We will walk the dog a bit, and have a hot breakfast, and give thanks.
|
-
It is now just before midnight, Saturday August 27. Irene is scheduled to pass by in a few hours, with the worst of the storm from 1 am to about 4 am. Right now in Ocean City, we have winds hovering around 25 mph and a very light rain. This has been the general condition since about 8 pm when we recorded a gust of 62 during a heavy downpour. Having a working weather station that we can monitor from indoors really helps separate fact from feeling! I did step outside to dump the rain gauge, which had registered over 5 inches of rain since the start of the storm. It is warm, mild and relatively calm here, but we are bracing for what is coming. Our house has vaulted ceilings and clerestory windows and heavy rain and wind make quite a racket. We could retreat to our lower floor, but it is full of porch and patio furniture, awnings and outdoor equipment. We expect the eye to pass by between 4 am and 5 am, while the tide is still low. The wind will shift to the west and push water out of the back bay and away from the beaches. If the track and forecast hold, this news is about as good as it gets with respect to bayside flooding. We have not lost power at all, and had a slight disruption of cable and internet for a few minutes, just once. At least we don't have to worry about trees coming down across the wires. It looks like there is some conflict in the latest reports, but it is clear that you have to be a long, long way from Ocean City, NJ to get away from Irene.
|
-
|
The number of residential properties - single family homes, condos and multi-family buildings - sold in Ocean City is up almost 34% in the first four months of 2011 compared with the previous year. Add to this the anecdotal contributions of a number of realtors who say that they are very busy with buyers who are actively looking but not in a rush to make a purchase, and it could mean a very strong year for seashore sales.
The dollar volume of sold properties increased by a slightly greater percentage from $90,882,275 to $123,614,374. This 36% increase does not appear to be related to the mix of properties sold or to significant changes in average sold price in any given category, but is instead an across-the-board increase in sales with stable pricing.
In case you were debating whether it was time to start buying, the answer is that others have already jumped in and you are a little late. There are still about 1,000 residential properties for sale in town, but if you have your heart set on a particular location, type of property or price range, it is time to contact a realtor and start searching. You may find yourself waiting for the right property to hit the market.
So where are the bargains? The best deals to be had are on the beachfront and on the lagoons and open bay, where inventories remain high and sales are sluggish at best. Buyers who are willing to work hard with an agent, submitting offers and moving on if they don't like the response, can occasionally uncover a good deal. Those who want to see a free-fall in pricing in choice locations will have a long wait, however, because too many owners are in strong equity positions and are apparently willing to wait things out.
Single family homes, especially newer ones near the beach in the $1 million market, are being snatched up, and much of the aged inventory has been cleared out. Agents check in with each other with their wish lists, trying to find properties for their buyers before or when they hit the market.
None of this has yet translated into significant upward price pressure, because buyers have had lots of time to study the market, are aware that those who bought in 2005-2007 may be in negative equity positions, and are determined not to over-pay. This sometimes translates into a hostile buyer - hostile seller situation, where both parties think they are on the losing end. Smart buyers and sellers let go of the past, and focus on today in trying to make a deal come together.
Check back for more updates as I do a more in-depth analysis of our market.
|
-
I walk every morning with our dog, sometimes along the beach, sometimes heading cross-island toward the bay and back, all depending on whim and wind. Each morning is different, especially in April. One day last week, the air was warm and the wind off the ocean. The chop was building on the water, and the ground fog obscured all but the tops of the tallest towers in Atlantic City across the inlet. For the first time this season, I could smell the sea before I crossed the dune line. That salty, briny, earthy rich smell that is the North Atlantic was back. For me, on this charming sand bar that I call home, it is as much a sign of spring as the greening of the grass or the song of the robins. Although there were others out and about, the sea fog dampened all sound and wrapped us in solitude. The following day, the dog and I lowered our heads and beat to windward against a driving rain in a strong northeast blow. The ocean boiled, looking angry. Not even the dog wanted to sniff for signs of spring. The mercury dropped, the barometer dropped, and our spirits dropped with them. This time, we were the only fools in sight. All it takes is a simple change in wind direction to change everything. By late afternoon the wind had shifted, the clouds blew away, and a confused and angry ocean had sorted itself into a beatiful ground swell while the west wind stood the waves up nicely and blew the foam off the crests. The rollers in the inlet looked like steam locomotives under full power as they raced toward the bay. Along the boardwalk, surfers were taking full advantage of the longer daylight to enjoy perfect surf conditions, riding waves as the lowering sun lit up the crests like spotlights on their efforts. Tomorrow, we will walk again. The wind will tell us which way to go, but only time will tell what we will see.
|
-
If a corporation closes a convenience store in a beach town, placing the 190 ft x 100 ft parcel on the market, what is the highest and best use of the land going forward? The conventional argument, taught in real estate schools, is that the highest and best use is the one that produces the highest property value. Value is only measured by what a buyer will pay for the property; it is an economic measurement. There are four criteria that must be met in order to qualify as "highest and best use." They are legal permissibility, physical possibility, financial feasibility, and maximum productivity. The residents of the area liked the use as a convenience store, but that use is precluded because the sellers insist on a non-compete arrangement that eliminates any sort of food sales, whether fresh, processed or prepared on site.
The property is zoned commercial, and a proposal was made to rezone the property residential in order to allow the construction of up to six duplex buildings that would be sold as condominiums. Local residents were almost uniformly opposed because a number of unsold duplexes already exist in the neighborhood. Another argument was that the primary beneficiary of a change in zoning would be the seller of the property, who was creating its own hardship by restricting future use. There is no commercial entity stepping up to buy the parcel at the current asking price, but the seller would certainly get his price if the property were rezoned residential.
Variations on this same scenario have occurred over and over in resort towns as escalating residential property values have tempted commercial property owners to either sell out to developers, if the zoning allowed residential use, or to petition for zoning changes in order to do so. Several questions arise from this scenario: If a commercial property owner is deed-restricting his land to keep competition out of town, how does this affect "highest and best use?" If the zoning is changed to permit residential housing, benefitting the seller, this changes the "highest and best use" of the parcel, but what about the ripple effect in the community? Should there be any consideration given to the longer-term values when commercial enterprises flee, turning thriving resort town into second-home bedroom communities? I don't know the answers. I am just asking the questions. I'd like to hear what others think on this topic.
Stay tuned for more on "highest and best use" and point of view...as in "if buyers value views and open space but developers value bedroom counts, what is the highest and best use?"
|
-
|
Ocean City was quieter than expected this weekend, with light rental activity and some buyers in town, but not the crowds that the improving weather and economic forecast would indicate. Perhaps the ocean is to blame.
That's right. That same ocean that folks flock to all summer is not helping us right now. We can't complain in general, because the storms all winter came out of the west, giving us blowout low tides and calm seas near shore. Beach erosion has been insignificant in comparison to most winters, so what's the problem?
Today dawned overcast at the shore, again. The sun broke through now and then, but the general tone was dark and damp and chilly. A quick ride to drop friends at the Atlantic City Airport brought sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures. Downright balmy. On the return trip, even nearby Somers Point registered 58 and sunny. By the time I cleared the Somers Point-Longport bridge, my car thermometer showed 55. As I headed up and over the span across the Great Egg Inlet into Ocean City, the numbers were scrolling downward. 48 at the toll booth. 47 on Battersea Road.
It's that darn ocean. The surf temperature has been just under 40 degrees. The land heats up, air rises, and that cold, damp air gets sucked in off the surface of the sea. Later in the spring, the change in air temperature and humidity can be so sharp and sudden that the cold air rolls in like smoke off the ocean, obliterating the boardwalk, the Ferris wheel and all familiar landmarks in the blink of an eye. It is worth being here to see it happen!
|
|
|
|