westfield luxury real estate Archives - Luxury Homes/Top Towns

Downtown Westfield Sidewalk Sale 2021

July 9, 2021 by Scott Gleason

Many of our annual events went “virtual” last year. Girl’s Night Out, clothing drives, and even beloved holiday events like Santa Claus Lane included severe restrictions to allow them to take place. Fortunately, we see life returning somewhat back to normal thanks to the percentage of people receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Our local small businesses bared the brunt of economic hardship last year. It is time to show them some love again. So, grab your checkbooks and head out to the Downtown Westfield Sidewalk Sale 2021 next week.

What: Downtown Westfield Sidewalk Sale 2021
Where: Various Shops Downtown
When: July 15th to 18th, 2921
Contact: Westfield Town Hall (908) 789-4040 or via email

Downtown Westfield Sidewalk Sale 2021

It is time to shop ’til you drop, people. Between July 15th and July 18th, our local boutiques take it to the streets. Stroll the Downtown Westfield area for huge discounts and great deals on everything from clothing to accessories, home decor and more. If you get hungry while walking around, stop at one of our amazing dining establishments for a light breakfast, quick lunch, or a hearty dinner to cap off the day. Most of these deals are only available during the Sidewalk Sale event. So, make sure that you hit up your favorite boutiques before July 18th ends or you miss out on these fantastic bargains until next year.

Sweet Sounds Downtown Music Festival Update

This year’s Sweet Sounds Downtown Music Festival got off to a bit of a rocky start. This past Tuesday was supposed to start the festival off with great live music around the downtown area. But Mother Nature made other plans. After a postponement to Wednesday due to thunderstorms, officials canceled it altogether for the week as Westfield remained on thunderstorm watch. But, barring any more push back from Mother Nature, the festival continues next Tuesday, July 13th. So, do not despair. Make Downtown Westfield your destination for a weeknight date night any Tuesday this July and August.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

December 2020 Market Update

December 2, 2020 by Scott Gleason

Curious about your home’s value?

Please click below for the market update of interest to you:

Berkeley Heights

Chatham

Clark

Cranford

Fanwood

Warren

Westfield by Grade School:

Franklin

Jefferson

McKinley

Tamaques

Washington

Wilson

Scott Gleason scott@luxuryhomesnj.com

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

Best Home Improvement Projects for the Money

October 19, 2018 by Scott Gleason

Your home is a major investment of your time and money. Most likely, you’re going to want to make a few changes while you own it. Some projects you’ll do because they improve your lifestyle. Other projects you do because they improve your home’s value. Here are some of the best home improvement projects for the money.

Best Home Improvement Projects for the Money

Replace the Roof

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Does your roof look a little worse for wear? Replacing it costs about $7500 on average. But your ROI runs around 109%, making it the best home improvement project you can do. As time goes on, however, that ROI lessens (due to wear and tear on the roof itself). Whether you plan on selling your Westfield home soon or want to live there indefinitely, you need a good roof over your head to protect you from the elements. So, this is always a good investment.

Plant Some Trees

Trees provide shade in the summer and protection against harsh winter weather. They also help the environment and make your Westfield home look more appealing. But did you know that they’re one of the best home improvement projects you can find? At 100% ROI, they’re well worth the investment. Be careful with which trees you plant. Keep them far enough from the house so that the roots don’t hurt your foundation. Consult with professionals at your local nursery to find out which trees work best and where to plant them.

Wood Flooring

Another one of the best home improvement projects Westfield homeowners should consider is replacing your old flooring with new wood floors. Carpet in the bedrooms and tile in the bathrooms is fine. But today’s home buyers want to see beautiful hardwood floors everywhere else. The cost of materials and installation runs around $10-$15 per square foot. However, your ROI comes in at 91%. If your home currently features hardwood floors that look a little worn out, save some money by refinishing them instead of replacing them. That bumps your ROI up to 100%.

Replace the Garage Door

One of the most underlooked home improvement projects that offers an excellent ROI (87%) is replacing the garage door. Not only is it a minimal cost to install (around $2300 on average), it takes a short amount of time to complete and can totally change the look of your home right away. This also becomes an energy efficient feature when you install an insulated garage door.

Add an Outdoor Kitchen

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Do you love your summer barbecues? Many people do. Another one of the best home improvement projects for the money is adding an outdoor kitchen/grilling station. A $14,000 investment offers a 71% ROI. Charcoal or gas grills cost less than an electric grill. If you keep your outdoor kitchen near your indoor kitchen, you can use the plumbing from there instead of running it out to an area further away. This helps reduce costs and increase your ROI.

Basement Conversion

Basements are very popular here in the Westfield real estate market. They create extra living space. You get to mold it to fit with your family’s lifestyle. As far as being one of the best home improvement projects for the money? Not so much. The cost to finish your basement and convert it into usable space runs around $40,000. If you plan on adding a bathroom or wet bar, you’re looking at much more. The ROI comes in at around 63%. So, if you want to do this, go ahead. Get creative. Just don’t expect to recoup all your costs when you sell your home.

Indoor Kitchen Remodel

One of the most popular home improvement projects actually offers the least ROI (62%) out of all the projects on my list. On average, you’re looking at around $65,000 to completely overhaul an outdated kitchen. Even so, if you want to sell your property in today’s Westfield luxury market, you’re going to need to bring your kitchen up to date. One way to keep remodeling costs to a minimum is to keep the same footprint as the original kitchen, ie, don’t move the plumbing or electrical. If your cabinets are in good shape, sand them down and refinish them instead of replacing them with new ones. Doing the demo work and painting yourself also shaves some money off the costs of remodeling.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

How to Make Your Westfield Home Sale a Success

March 3, 2018 by Scott Gleason

There are many pre-listing tasks every seller should undertake before putting their home on the market. Decluttering, packing up, and staging, are just a few of the chores on the list. If you want to make your Westfield home sale a success, follow these simple steps.

How to Make Your Westfield Home Sale a Success

Price Your Home According to the Current Market

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First, let’s talk money. Pricing tops the list of importance for most buyers. Price it too low, you risk losing money. However, price it too high and you risk losing buyers’ interest. It’s imperative that you price it according to how the market currently values it. How do you know what that magic number is? That’s where your Westfield REALTOR’s@ knowledge and expertise comes in to play. Not only can they run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of your neighborhood, but they can also factor in the current market trends they see on a day-to-day basis.

Professional Photos Sell Homes

Next, to make your Westfield home sale a success, you’ll need great photos. Most buyers take to their computers to search for homes. That means that the photographs posted will be their first exposure to your property. If you only offer lackluster photos, they may hinder the chances of buyers actually coming to see your home in person. Consider hiring a pro to take photographs of your property or even a short video tour. The extra polish a professional provides might be the catalyst that brings more traffic to your door.

Make All Needed Repairs

Then, make sure any and all necessary repairs are complete before you list. While small items can be tackled yourself, definitely hire a pro for the big things, like plumbing, electrical, water heaters, etc. Buyers tend to overestimate costs of repair issues by as much as 200%. Then, they start decreasing their offer price to offset these costs. Also, when they see cracked tiles, dingy grout, or stains on the carpet, they often worry about what other, larger problems you haven’t taken care of. That puts an even bigger dent in their offer price. It might even turn them away from buying your Westfield home altogether.

Share Information About Your Home

Once a buyer has a home inspection performed, some of the problems your Westfield home may have endured over the years will come to light. It instills a sense of trust with the buyer if you are upfront about these issues, even if they are no longer a problem. Besides, it’s the law for New Jersey homeowners to disclose any “known material defects” in regards to the home they are selling. This includes past roof damage, water damage, termite infestations, etc, even if they happened before you owned the property. Then, you can then explain how these issues were resolved. As part of the home selling process, you will be filling out a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. This information must be included here, too. Keeping this information from buyers could end in litigation down the road. It’s much better to be forthright with this information from the beginning.

Leave During Showings

Finally, in order to make your Westfield home sale a success, don’t stick around while it is being shown to potential buyers. Let your REALTOR@ field questions and highlight your home’s best features. Take the dog for a walk. Visit with friends. Go out to lunch. See a movie. Go shopping. Buyers feel much more comfortable if the owner of the property isn’t hovering around when they are trying to tour a home.

Want to make your Westfield home sale a success without all the stress? Use these tips as a guideline. And be sure to contact me when you’re ready to put your home on the market.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

June 2017 Westfield NJ Market Report

June 30, 2017 by Scott Gleason

It’s always a busy time for the Westfield real estate market in the summertime. Sunny skies bring the Buyers out. According to the June 2017 Westfield NJ Market Report, active listings increased substantially from the previous month. Meanwhile, sales remained even.

June 2017 Westfield NJ Market Report

Active Westfield Luxury Homes for Sale in June 2017

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The Garden State MLS reported a total of 20 active Westfield luxury homes on the market in June 2017. That’s double the amount of active listings we saw in May 2017. Included among the active Westfield listings is the beautifully updated colonial at 560 West 1st Street. Originally built in 1922, this property underwent a huge renovation in 2015. This home entered the Westfield market just 23 days ago. Another currently active listing can be found at 204 Gallows Hill Rd. It was also renovated in 2015 and sits near Washington school. Of these, 12 were either newly built, are currently under construction or were ready to be built. Thirteen homes came onto the Westfield market within the last 30 days, including the aforementioned 560 West 1st Street.

Westfield Luxury Homes Under Contract in June 2017

Only one Westfield luxury home was under contract in June 2017. This NCN Properties custom colonial went under contract after just five days on the market. Currently, it is under construction.

Westfield Luxury Homes Sold in June 2017

Seven luxury Westfield homes sold in June 2017, the same amount that sold in May 2017. Of these seven, five were newly constructed homes. Two of them spent less than 30 days on the market: a recently renovated Mahoney built Colonial sold after 20 days on market while another custom Colonial spent just 22 days on the market. One home sold right at list price while another sold just above.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve decided to raise rates another 1/4%. Since their announcement, however, mortgage rates experienced only a slight increase. They continue to hover around 4%. Financial experts believe we could see at least one, maybe two more increases before year’s end. If you’re interested in purchasing a Westfield luxury home, please contact me right away.

Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes

Curious about your home’s value?

Please click below for the market update of interest to you:

Cranford
Fanwood
Garwood
Millburn-Short Hills
Mountainside
Scotch Plains
Summit

Westfield by Grade School:

Franklin
Jefferson
McKinley
Tamaques
Washington
Wilson