Bergen County Real Estate News : October 2008 – week 1

Bergen county news with an emphasis on aspects affecting real estate, residency and community issues.

October 2008 – Week 1 Issue

Home prices fall in Bergen County
Office space in Bergen County
Playground for children of all abilities in Teaneck
Train horns trouble Bergen residents
Digital television in Demarest

Home prices fall in Bergen County

While a national decline of housing prices is on, a review by Standards and Poors showcased that the dip in home prices in New Jersey has been lesser. In the region of Bergen County, median home prices were noted to decline by 7.5% from July 2007 to July 2008 as per the New Jersey MLS. Thus while home prices were at $505, 000 in July 2007, they fell to $467,000 by July 2008. As per statistics, prices in the New York metropolitan area fell by 7.4% from the month of July 2007 to July 2008. A nationwide survey showcased that home prices have declined by 16.3% for the same time frame. however the picture has not been as pretty in other regions like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami where home prices were again noted to rise this year by as much as 25%. Experts state that this change of figures shows that a correction is occurring in home prices. Studies also indicate that Bergen County is growing in popularity for many families who want to settle down and raise children. While prices have been more or less steady here, volume of home sales has gone down. As per New Jersey MLS, July 2008 reported the sale of 685 homes in the county while August 2008 witnessed sales of 691 homes. These figures are a drop of 24% and 20% from similar months in 2007.

Office space in Bergen County

With just a few ups and downs, the office market of Bergen County remained fairly steady in the third quarter of 2008. Statistics report that rents for most regions rose slightly in this phase. Availability rates was noted to rise by 21.5% in Bergen and Passaic counties for Class A, B and C office space in five submarkets. Rents increased to $25.45 per sq ft of office space in the two counties. Asking rents, which are measured in weighted averages, were noted to rise by half a percent in the two counties. Rents were noted to fall only in the region of Bergen East where average weighted rents went down by 0.5%. This includes the towns of Tenafly, Cliffside Park and Fort Lee. Availability rates were also seen to go down by 1.2% in these submarkets. Experts state that the current office market scenario has remained unchanged because many businesses are wary of making capital investments in office markets. Also land availability is measured by calculating the land available for lease. Thus while statistics show that much land is not available for lease, sub leases of land may be taking place.

Playground for children of all abilities in Teaneck

Residents of Teaneck can now benefit from the new park that provides scope for children from all abilities to play easily. This ‘inclusive’ playground is located at the northern end of Votee park. It has a wheelchair accessible construction and consists of a wide range of supportive swings, hanging bars and slides for children. It is surrounded by a fence and has a rubber surface to help prevent injury. The park designed for children in the age group of two to twelve opened to public on Saturday, October 4, 2008. It was constructed after three years put into planning. $580,000 was invested in the ground which took four months to complete construction. Money for the park was generated from a $180,000 grant provided by Bergen County’s Community Block Grant Program. Remaining funds for the playground were generated by the open space funds of Teaneck. Residents in the region are pleased with the construction and say that it promotes the ‘history of inclusiveness’ of Teaneck.

Train horns trouble Bergen residents

Many residents of towns in North Jersey are stepping up their efforts to prevent train horns from blaring in the neighborhood. However the efforts to create ‘quiet zones’ have gone for naught so far. Few residents reported that the interest in the project has reduced, mainly because of increasing costs. In order to create ‘quiet zones’ in the neighborhood, where train horns and whistles are banned, the borough had initially chosen three regions. However in order to design these crossings as per federal standards the borough would need $ 85,000. Officials in certain regions like Hackensack, also backed off fearing the legal costs that would fall on the city in the event of anyone getting hit by a train. With the state cutting down the amount of funds to be spent, this project has taken a backseat. As there is no provision of federal or state aid for quiet zones in the state, the costs would fall on the local community. Dumont and Closter officials are considering options to avail of buy-ins from neighboring towns for the project.

Digital television in Demarest

From February 2009 onwards, residents of Demarest and the neighborhood can look forth to digital televisiontransmissions. Till now all television stations use analog signals. However in order to improve picture clarity and improve safety for residents digital television will now be provided. This is supposed to help the public safety departments like fire and police to communicate better with residents in times of need. However this will also mean that the old channels viewed by residents will be gone and digital stations with new signals will come up. Also residents with old television sets that does not support digital transmissions will need to be replaced. A convertor box can also be used to get a good picture and more channels. The US government is also providing free coupons for these boxes. More information on availing coupons, convertor boxes etc can be availed from 1-888-225-5322 or 1-888-835-5322.

Buy a Home in Bergen County

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• Different Reasons to Own Your Own Home
• Things You Should Know about Moving
• When Selling a Home

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