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RussianBergen county news with an emphasis on aspects affecting real estate, residency and community issues.
Bergen County luxury homes affected by housing slump
Bergen County fighting Illegal housing
Bergen County towns try to save
Bergen County homes awarded commendation for preserving historic status
Roads being repaved in New Jersey
Bergen County luxury homes affected by housing slump
Bergen County and other wealthy suburbs are affected by the housing slump in New York and the neighborhood. While these rich communities have been unaffected so far, the tightening of credit in response to rising sub prime defaults has caused the national housing to slump and prices to fall by as much as 15%.
Various experts in homebuilding and the luxury housing segment state that many buyers have been dissuaded by the news of defaults by sub prime borrowers. While many buyers of the luxury homes segment are not concerned with sub prime borrowing, the news in itself has caused a setback in buying attitudes. As many first time buyers are sub prime borrowers, probably the sales have been affected.
National statistics for the year 2007 also show that median prices for an existing home may go down by 0.7%, the first year over year drop since 1968. Statistics also show that the number of homes in Bergen and neighboring counties that sold for less that $400,000 in the first quarter of this year, fell 27% from the same period in the year 2005. In this segment too, sales have reportedly been less as fewer first-time home buyers are entering the segment. Another reason has been the rising home prices that have made many prospective buyers wary of the unstable market.
Bergen County fighting Illegal housing
The borough of East Rutherford will soon focus its attention on preventing and controlling housing violations in the area. As the council tightens its rules, many will be fined for violating regulations and illegally subdividing their houses. The issues of single homes being illegally subdivided into two-family homes is a growing one as many homes across Bergen County and the neighborhood were seen to be indulging in these wrong practices. Tighter building code enforcements would be put in place and a part-time official would be hired to monitor the progress on implementing regulations.
An annual salary of approximately $15000 a month is allocated for the official who would give approximately 20 hours a week to the cause. The job of the officer would be to keep a track of homes following wrong practices and to send out summons to them. The ordinance is expected to be approved this month, and once it receives approval, the borough will join the group of other communities from different towns in Bergen County (like Cliffside Park and Carlstadt) that are taking action against housing violation. Violators can face fines up to $2000 in case they have violated regulations, do not plead guilty or do not have permits.
However, while many feel that this may be a good move, a few experts also state that focusing attention on illegal housing removes attention from the bigger problem of affordable housing. These are times when the borough should be seeking new opportunities for increasing affordable housing and not focus energies on sending people from illegal homes to other illegal houses.
Bergen County towns try to save
Various towns of Bergen County have now gotten together to implement new means for saving the taxpayers money. As per the commissioner of New Jersey Department of Community affairs, money has become tighter, towns are pressed into action for seeking novel ways in which they can partner and reduce their risks of losing state aids and grants. A lot of savings are being implemented in shared services whereby various counties and towns are taking up jobs for other counties too.
However many feel that New Jersey needs much more than that to cut its tax. With the area dividing itself into approximately 566 municipalities and 616 school districts, merging resources can also be unacceptable to residents who like the autonomy of their small towns. Sharing equipment and services also falls unsuitable in many cases. One such case was where the county considered merging the Northwest Bergen Utilities Authority with the Bergen County Utilities Authority. However the county decided not to take up the merger as redoing union contracts would have cost a lot of money. Another case where merger did not work was when the residents did not accept merging police departments at Emerson and Westwood.
Bergen County homes awarded commendation for preserving historic status
Four homes in Bergen County were proud recipients of the Historic Preservation Commendation Awards. At the 25th annual Historic Preservation Commendation Awards function, conducted on Thursday, May 10, 2007, various restored houses received these awards. The four homes from Bergen County that featured on the list included the James C Blauvelt House and Cariage house (built 1872), the Sylvan Building, or The Kurgan-Bergen Building (built 1901), the King Jellison House (built 1873) and the John A. Haring House and Barn (built 1755). These homes are located in Closter, Rutherford, Tenafly and Rockleigh respectively and are well known for their architecture, style or historical significance.
Roads being repaved in New Jersey
Many repaving programs are on in New Jersey and various highways are being improved and repaired. This came up after various studies (like the 2005 Highway commission report) indicated that roads in New Jersey top the list in roads with poor condition. However, while the $300 million program promises to bring respite at various places across New Jersey, not much repair is in store for Bergen County and the neighboring towns. Even for the year 2008, while $70 million is scheduled for repaving the roads, no funds will be used for repaving in Bergen County.
The last time roads in the county were repaved was two years ago, when Route 17 was coated with asphalt. As per Kris Kolluri, the funds will be used first for roads that are heavily damaged and in serious need of repair. While the repairs promise to be a boon for many motorists, there is a large segment who hope that more attention could be paid for routes 3, 4 and 46 in the Bergen and Passaic counties. Many added that while repaving efforts are on, not much attention has been paid to fixing the roads.
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