Lowball!
Welcome to another edition of Lowball!
Lowball! takes a look at home sales over the past week from a very different perspective. For those new to Lowball!, a lowball offer is when a buyer offers a significantly lower bid than asking in hopes that the seller accepts the offer. We take a list of home sales over the past week and pick out the sales that have the highest percentage difference between asking price and selling price.
The reason for Lowball! is to show buyers that the market has changed and buyers now have considerably more leverage than sellers. Just a short time ago, lowball offers would have been laughed at and discarded, however, not any more. The fact that so many under-asking offers are being accepted is clear proof that the market is changing.
The list does not contain all sales, I hand-pick the most interesting sales from the list. These listings might be the highest dollar drops, biggest percentage reductions, or sales in towns that are thought to still be 'hot'. Please note, even with double digit percentage reductions, these homes are still incredibly overpriced.
So let's take a look at this weeks list of Lowball! sales.
MLS# 2094005 - East Hanover, NJ
Asking Price $1,600,000
Selling Price $1,300,000 (18.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2070669 - West Paterson, NJ
Asking Price $575,000 (Originally asking an amazing $725,000)
Selling Price $500,000 (13% Lowball)
MLS# 2105356 - Green Brook, NJ
Asking Price $1,148,780
Selling Price $999,999 (13% Lowball)
MLS# 1563380 - Wayne, NJ
Asking Price $429,900
Selling Price $375,000 (12.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2073586 - South Orange, NJ
Asking Price $359,000 (Originally asking $389,000)
Selling Price $320,000 (10.9% Lowball)
MLS# 2056010 - Cranford, NJ
Asking Price $369,900
Selling Price $330,000 (10.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2076587 - Livingston, NJ
Asking Price $1,900,000 (Originally asking $2,150,000)
Selling Price $1,700,000 (10.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2073810 - Maplewood, NJ
Asking Price $315,000 (Originally asking $325,000)
Selling Price $282,000 (10.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2103281 - Parsippany, NJ
Asking Price $585,000
Selling Price $525,000 (10.3% Lowball)
MLS# 2092409 - Clifton, NJ
Asking Price $529,000
Selling Price 475,000 (10.2% Lowball)
MLS# 2201031 - New Providence, NJ
Asking Price $609,000
Selling Price $ 547,000 (10.2% Lowball)
MLS# 2092309 - Millburn, NJ
Asking Price $1,395,000 (Originally asking $1,495,000)
Selling Price $1,290,000 (7.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2102157 - Madison, NJ
Asking Price $549,000
Selling Price $510,000 (7.3% Lowball)
(About time this one sold, I believe it was relisted more than once)
To all the prospective buyers on the market. If you absolutely must buy a house today, while I can't stop you (although I might try), there is no reason to bid over asking. If you've got to buy, Lowball!
Caveat Emptor,
James
Lowball! takes a look at home sales over the past week from a very different perspective. For those new to Lowball!, a lowball offer is when a buyer offers a significantly lower bid than asking in hopes that the seller accepts the offer. We take a list of home sales over the past week and pick out the sales that have the highest percentage difference between asking price and selling price.
The reason for Lowball! is to show buyers that the market has changed and buyers now have considerably more leverage than sellers. Just a short time ago, lowball offers would have been laughed at and discarded, however, not any more. The fact that so many under-asking offers are being accepted is clear proof that the market is changing.
The list does not contain all sales, I hand-pick the most interesting sales from the list. These listings might be the highest dollar drops, biggest percentage reductions, or sales in towns that are thought to still be 'hot'. Please note, even with double digit percentage reductions, these homes are still incredibly overpriced.
So let's take a look at this weeks list of Lowball! sales.
MLS# 2094005 - East Hanover, NJ
Asking Price $1,600,000
Selling Price $1,300,000 (18.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2070669 - West Paterson, NJ
Asking Price $575,000 (Originally asking an amazing $725,000)
Selling Price $500,000 (13% Lowball)
MLS# 2105356 - Green Brook, NJ
Asking Price $1,148,780
Selling Price $999,999 (13% Lowball)
MLS# 1563380 - Wayne, NJ
Asking Price $429,900
Selling Price $375,000 (12.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2073586 - South Orange, NJ
Asking Price $359,000 (Originally asking $389,000)
Selling Price $320,000 (10.9% Lowball)
MLS# 2056010 - Cranford, NJ
Asking Price $369,900
Selling Price $330,000 (10.8% Lowball)
MLS# 2076587 - Livingston, NJ
Asking Price $1,900,000 (Originally asking $2,150,000)
Selling Price $1,700,000 (10.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2073810 - Maplewood, NJ
Asking Price $315,000 (Originally asking $325,000)
Selling Price $282,000 (10.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2103281 - Parsippany, NJ
Asking Price $585,000
Selling Price $525,000 (10.3% Lowball)
MLS# 2092409 - Clifton, NJ
Asking Price $529,000
Selling Price 475,000 (10.2% Lowball)
MLS# 2201031 - New Providence, NJ
Asking Price $609,000
Selling Price $ 547,000 (10.2% Lowball)
MLS# 2092309 - Millburn, NJ
Asking Price $1,395,000 (Originally asking $1,495,000)
Selling Price $1,290,000 (7.5% Lowball)
MLS# 2102157 - Madison, NJ
Asking Price $549,000
Selling Price $510,000 (7.3% Lowball)
(About time this one sold, I believe it was relisted more than once)
To all the prospective buyers on the market. If you absolutely must buy a house today, while I can't stop you (although I might try), there is no reason to bid over asking. If you've got to buy, Lowball!
Caveat Emptor,
James
20 Comments:
James,
Congratulations on making the Ledger. Thank you for the good work. I really enjoy your blog.
went to see some open houses today. some sellers are asking for what they bought a year ago for 200K to 300K more. cannot wait to see these greedy people see the reality.
Good job.
Expose the corrupt real estate industry.
They serve only their own interests.
I've been meaning to hike up to the top of Rifle Camp reservation and take some photos of the Hovnanian development (aka the giant pit).
They aren't making any more land, but they sure have plenty of land left to develop.
Speaking of Hovnanian Developments, aside from the 600+ condos on Garrett Mountain, what about Hilltop on the old Essex County Jail property? 27 Homes on the first parcel, and another 50 homes on the second. I belive there is an additional adult community of approximately 100 units, and some rental units as well.
I drove by another development on Mt. Pleasant (I believe in Livingston). I didn't get a chance to see who the builder was, but I believe there were some 200 units in that development.
I stopped in to the Toll Bros development in Warren county on Saturday. That's a development of some 22 estate homes, I believe they start in the 650s and go upwards from there.
Oh, and thanks for the congrats.
-James
What's the fascination with Maplewood? I really don't understand it. Although I live in Passaic County, I spend a considerable amount of time in Essex County, and I can't fathom why. I can understand Glen Ridge, Upper Montclair, Essex Fells and the nice sections of the Caldwells, and Millburn. Cedar Grove around the reservoir is nice, and Verona near the park is a great section. I can even understand some of the exclusive sections of the Oranges.. But Maplewood? You got me there.
Oh, by the way, you guys (and gals) wouldn't believe the number of phone calls I received yesterday by people trying to sell me their homes. Two of those people obviously never read this blog, but simply read the first paragraph of the article, and must have thought I was a sucker.
Caveat Emptor!
Grim
Hey InvestorDavid, I was wondering where you disappeared to the other day..
The link is:
Housing Boom's final hurrah
Oh, and NJGal, I did add that maplewood lowball in just for you. I always keep an eye out for lowballs or price drops in the towns readers are interested in.
-jb
grim ghost,
No flipper on that Green Brook property, the owner and seller was Pulte.
jb
Grim:
I don't get the fascination with Maplewood either. Parts of it are beautiful but then there's parts bordering Irvington that are..um..slightly less desirable. :) It sounds like we're neighbors. I live very close to Garrett Mountain. Well, here's a toast to a major league crash. Great site, keep it up!
I was surprised to see that it was Pulte as well. Perhaps it might have been the model?
I did look at a house in Glen Ridge a few weeks back, 43 Ridgewood Ave to be more specific. Asking was 599, the seller bought the home around May for 549. A bit overpriced, but the home had some real character (i.e. not another boring passaic county cape) and a new kitchen.
But for that price, I'd rather not be living on the 'bad side' of town..
jb
chip,
Thanks, I keep trying to come up with new weekly features to fill up the quiet spots when it seems like nothing is going on. The economics calendar will likely result in many new posts in the next few weeks. I know people check the site at least once a day looking for updates, so I want to keep the content fresh.
If anyone has any requests or suggestions, lets hear them!
James
Recently moved to Upper Montclair, paid cash ($46k under inflated asking price) from proceeds of sale in Brooklyn to chump who thinks he's got it made, love it here, daughter's school across the street, community pool & tennis courts along with Iris gardens around the corner, high taxes ($12,500, but no mortgage) are fair tradeoff compared to shit school system, dirty streets, asshole neighbors, & even bigger greedy asshole developers building right next door to my property in Brooklyn. Maplewood?? Why bother. Self important white folks trying to feel good about their choice to live there and then subject their kids to ghetto fabulous schools?!?FUHGETABOUTIT!! You get only one chance to raise your kids. Don't put your kumbaya feel-good aspirations ahead of their physical and mental well-being.
The flip side of lowballers are morons who overpay. Most would have received their come-uppance, but just like morons who bought the theglobe.com, they have been helped by a rising market. But that may not last much longer.
In a Union County subdivision I know, one house went for around 745K 3 months back. Another was listed for $829 K (almost similar, sightly better view, but unifinished basement). After 2-3 months, it seems to have gone into contract now. I'm hoping thats a lowballer (I think that house could be had for 750K max), but I think it might be another overpaying moron.
I feel a new weekly section coming, Overpaid!
Well, I've got the same data I use to do Lowball! right in front of me, so I have all the Overpaid! data right here.
This week we had:
Irvington
Asking 175,000
Sold 231,112
Berkeley Heights
Asking 554,000
Sold 656,000
Montclair
Asking 799,000
Sold 944,500
Madison
Asking 849,000
Sold 999,999
They aren't at all rare, but they are most certainly getting there, I haven't looked at any of these properties, but I have a feeling many of them were underpriced to encourage bidding wars, common in those areas.
grim
I remember that one now, I didn't really link the two. If it was an error I'd hope to see it corrected by now, but it's still showing 656 as the SP..
I can't see how that place is worth it at all, an as-is property? Only .32 acre? That better be the nicest lot in town..
jb
Grim,
The development you passed on Mt. Pleasant Avenue actually falls into West Orange (bordering Livingston).
The name of the development will be Bel Air (just as the adjacent development in Livingston is called, although those are long completed single family homes by a different developer).
There will be like 250 (?280) luxury townhomes with a clubhouse, to be built by Matzel and Mumford (a subsidiary of Khov.)
Realize, though, that these lowball selling prices are probably still higher than what these places would have sold for a year ago.
Thanks for the info on the West Orange development, I've been trying to put together a list of all the large scale developments in progress in Northern NJ.
jb
Sure.
Here is the link (limited info on it right now):
http://www.khov.com/Home/NJ/BELA/_Properties_AUTH.htm?FlashVer=7&Brand=MZM&Search_Type=OurCommunities&NavPathAnchor=%7B3AAC382D%2D16AE%2D4A06%2DA138%2DE2E169E439A1%7D&Area=NJBERC
Somebody actually bought a house in Irvington? Over asking price? Scary.
What were they thinking? Must have been a crack dealer with a fat wallet.
In another year or so there will be pages or foreclosures and fire sales just like 1990. I can't imaging having a 700k mortgage and a 20k property tax bill hanging over my head.
Essex taxes are enough to make you want to move to Fairfield County CT.
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