PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

BUILDERS LEAGUE OF SOUTH JERSEY PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Go take a look. Your new home may be on the market.
By Bob Brown
Builders League of South Jersey President.

Everyone dreams about home. What we want to do when we get home. How we want to relax at home. Improvement projects we should start at home. Sprucing up our homes. Just being at home with those we love. How we need something more in our homes.

Sometimes we dream about moving to a new home. That’s a place that we, as a family, start our future: A home that is tranquil, clean, convenient, affordable, customized for us, and surrounded by all our comforts of home and our loved ones.

Everyone wants that sense of place. It’s where we live our life.

If you are planning your future in your next home you may have found yourself torn between starting your future now – going out and shopping to find the place that is just right for you – and staying put to see if home prices and financing rates go even lower.

We understand that there is nervousness in the market today. We have all heard the bad news across the nation of falling home prices, increasing foreclosures, toughening credit standards and business bankruptcies.  If you are planning to buy your next home somewhere in South Jersey then I suggest that you ignore the headlines and get out there and take a look.

You may not have even considered buying a new home, but stop by a sales center in a new neighborhood.  It might be an option that you overlooked.

That kitchen you dreamed of is out there. The extra bedrooms, the home office, the place by the woods, the simplified lifestyle, the shortened commute, or the home you can grow into are likely on the market in South Jersey.

If you are not ready to buy or you are almost ready to buy then at least you’re doing your homework. You’re seeing the homes that are on the market and making a comparison to whether they will fit your lifestyle. You’re taking a look at new places that you might call home. 

If you are planning your future today. Smart move.

Your decision to buy a new home may be closer than you think. By going out and shopping for the home you dream about, you will have the chance to make the financial comparison to see if the home you are looking for is more affordable today then it will be tomorrow or two years from now.

Consider the following market conditions a buyer in South Jersey faces today:

• There is a higher inventory of unsold new and existing homes - not a glut, but a higher inventory
• There are more choices in types of new homes.
• Builder incentives are giving buyers more opportunities and options in how their new home is customized for them
• Consumers with good credit have the advantage of historically low interest rates right now.
• New home prices in South Jersey slipped last year to an average of $398,398.
• Due to regulatory constraints and land use decisions there are fewer approved new neighborhoods that will be going on the market tomorrow, once the current inventory is sold. Down the road we can expect a supply-and-demand crisis in New Jersey, especially for the entry-level market.  All that will impact home prices

New Jersey’s home builders work to help others go home. We felt now was the time to dispel the misconceptions about the real estate slowdown in South Jersey. It’s not as bad as you may think.

If the time is right for you to move then don’t wait. We know you have a life to live. If buying a new home is more affordable for you today then do it. You have places to go: Like home.