Luxury Homes/Top Towns

Community Info and Luxury Service for Home Buyers and Sellers on the Move

Luxury Homes for Sale in Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Clark, Cranford, Fanwood, Garwood, Madison, Millburn, Mountainside, New Providence, Scotch Plains, Short Hills, Summit, Warren, Watchung, Westfield

  • Home
  • Eat, Shop & Play
    • Arts and Leisure
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Sports
    • Trusted Local Vendors
  • Buyers
    • Arts and Leisure
    • Best Financing Rates & Moves
    • Housing Options for Seniors
    • Search for Homes
  • Sellers
    • 7 Investments for a Better Return
    • Thinking of Selling Your Home?
    • What Makes Your Home Sell Fast?
    • Sell Your Home
    • Your Home’s Value
  • Tips
  • Bio
  • Contact
  • Property SearchSearch for homes for sale in the Westfield, NJ area.
  • Your Home’s ValueSee what your home is worth in today’s market.
  • Town ProfilesLearn more about Westfield and the surrounding area.
  • Scott’s NJ BlogGet the latest Westfield area community information.
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / June 2017 Market Update

June 2017 Market Update

June 19, 2017 by Scott Gleason

3 Signs Your Neighbor’s House May Be a Teardown

Friends, neighbors, clients ask, in a crescendo of frequency:  What’s with all the teardowns in my neighborhood?  Why aren’t families buying these homes and enjoying them as they are?  What will these new “monstrosities” do to my property value?  Today’s post is not about my views on new construction, nor the architectural trends that builders and buyers favor, just the economics.

You’ll see in the charts later, that some towns are much more new-construction prone than others, and within towns, neighborhoods vary too.  This story is just about the towns that receive this update.  They are densely populated towns with terrific selling propositions for affluent forming families: highly reputed schools, favorable commuting, and happening town centers.  These towns were 98% fully developed by the middle of the baby boom. The post-war building of “affordable” houses didn’t always maximize the lots, and some homes were not gems of design and craftsmanship. So, demand for new construction means demand for destruction.

What makes a house a candidate? It is decidedly not correlated to age.  Most homes built before the depression are far less likely to be replaced.  Look instead for a house whose size and condition, relative to the lot size and location, make it more attractive to replace than refurbish.

  1. Does your neighborhood support new construction sales at prices 2.5 times, or more, the market value of the most obsolescent home on the block? Some houses’ architecture or floor plan, position on the lot, workmanship, or “delayed maintenance” dictate a very low value to end-users.  The vast majority of new end-users both work long hours, leaving little bandwidth or patience to resuscitate a “diamond in the rough.”  And they tend to be cash tight, so while they can afford a higher purchase through financing, they cannot afford extensive renovation after closing.  What about compromising on condition or cosmetics, improving a little at a time, with an addition in the future?  The current buying generation just isn’t wired for delayed gratification.  There are also many buyers who want only the latest floor plans, color schemes and materials, or who believe only a new house is a good house.
  2. Can a wider house than the existing one be built on the lot? The builders are paying steeply for teardowns now and have to aim high in the new construction price range for their finished product. One component in the new home buyers’ decision-making is ostentation.  Why spend over a $1 million on a new house if your in-laws don’t gasp with envy from the curb?  This also explains why so many new homes have front garages.  It is a consequence of the need to build the widest overall edifice the zoning allows.
  3. Are there precedents on the block? This is a double driver.  Homeowners who seek to avoid appraisals, inspections, and maybe even leave all their paint cans and National Geographics behind when they move out, copy the neighbor who sold to a builder, or ask agents to do so.  (If you know anyone in this position I am delighted to help them reach a wide range of bidders, and barely charge them for my always exceptional service.)  And new home buyers like to look up and down the block and see other homes like theirs.  So, each new home tends to be more valuable than its antecedent.

And how, dear reader is your home value impacted?  All to the good.  The new homes raise the average value on your block.  The statistical principle, regression to the mean, tells us that all house values increase according to the rising mean.  Your house is worth more and you can expect more ROI from your future home improvements.  Rejoice!

Teardown economics

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

Scott Gleason scott@luxuryhomesnj.com

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

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Contact Scott

 

Meet Scott Gleason - Westfield NJ Real Estate

Scott Gleason

Luxury Homes for Sale in Westfield, New Jersey

Coldwell Banker Realty - East

Westfield Area Luxury Homes

209 Central Avenue
Westfield, NJ 07090
908-233-5555 Office
908-698-2630 Mobile/Direct
Send an Email to Scott

Scott Gleason reviews

Check out Scott Gleason-RE/MAX Select on Yelp

Please follow & like us :)

Subscribe to my Feed
Follow by Email
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Share

Scott Gleason – Coldwell Banker Realty

908-698-2630 – Direct

Site Map


Deprecated: Hook genesis_footer_creds_text is deprecated since version 3.1.0! Use genesis_pre_get_option_footer_text instead. This filter is no longer supported. You can now modify your footer text using the Theme Settings. in /home/luxury1homes/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5755

Scott Gleason

Coldwell Banker - East

Luxury Homes for Sale

in Westfield, New Jersey

908-233-5555 Office
908-698-2630 Mobile/Direct

Send an Email to Scott

© 2022 Luxury Homes NJ - Scott Gleason

Website Design and Maintenance by Second Self Virtual Assistance