O.C. mayor unsure whether to run for re-election
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Saturday, December 31, 2005
Updated: Saturday, December 31, 2005

OCEAN CITY-Longtime Ocean City Mayor Bud Knight said Friday he is undecided on whether to seek re-election in the spring.

Knight said he will announce his decision at an Ocean City council budget meeting on Jan. 12.

Knight said he is still mulling the possibility of seeking another four-year term for the city's highest office.

"I'm trying to weigh the pluses and minuses," he said. "I love doing the job. I think I've done a good job."

But Knight said he will turn 74 next year.

He will also be getting remarried in February, he said.

He has been talking with family members over the holidays regarding the options.

"I think I have a wonderful record of managing the city to delegating the responsibility to qualified professionals. But like I said, 'I'm getting older, I'm getting married, and maybe it's time to smell the roses,' " he said.

The Ocean City nonpartisan election is not until May, and candidates have until March 16 to file.

Ocean City Councilman Frank McCall is the only candidate to officially file yet, according to the Ocean City Clerk's Office.

McCall, a former mayor of Wildwood Crest, announced his candidacy earlier this month.

Councilman Jody Alessandrine, who narrowly lost to Knight in a 2002 mayoral race, is getting a campaign together and plans to formally announce his candidacy in late January, he said.

Alessandrine said he believes Knight will not seek re-election.

"I wish he would run, for the rematch. We'd love the opportunity again because some of the things I was concerned about four years ago came to pass. It would be an opportunity to talk about the record straight up," Alessandrine said.

Other potential candidates still have more than three months to decide.

Knight has been mayor of this resort city since 1992, when he won a special election following the death of Mayor Nickolas J. Trofa Jr.

Knight also held other positions in Ocean City, including on City Council and on the city's planning and zoning boards.

"Next year will make 40 years that I put some of my life in City Hall," Knight said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press: BIanieri@pressofac.com

Some Owners Don't Get It When Selling
by M. Anthony Carr

I went out with some friends this week to look at some houses. They're moving up from a condo to a single-family home and they're very excited. As we caravanned from home to home, it was obviously clear that some owners in this market sincerely believe they can offer up a can of worms as caviar.

During a real estate course I took years ago, the trainer used a fantastic example of how human nature dictates the selection process. She produced two $1 bills. One was fresh from the bank. You almost had to check to make sure you didn't have a second one pasted to the back it was so new. The second bill looked as if it had been gone through Desert Storm, been laundered several times and was nearly disintegrated.

She went to someone in the front row and asked, "Which one do you want?" The obvious answer was the clean, crisp, freshly printed bill. Why? The value of both was the same. They both are legal tender in any American retail outlet around the country and several countries around the world. But -- the clean one always got selected.

Thus, when we walked into a $370,000 single-family home and found mounds of clothing in the living room, left over dishes on the table along with opened cans of soup and pots with soup in them on the stove -- the luster of the home on the market dulled quickly. Interestingly, this was not an anomaly in the marketplace.

Another home priced at $449,000 was in about the same condition. The Realtor had not called the homeowners to let them know my friends were coming by; the for sale sign had dropped into the grass; there was no flier about the property inside the house; the bathrooms were scum covered; no staging of the home had been carried out whatsoever. There was even a bottle of beer strategically placed on the floor, next to the closet in the master bedroom. We were amazed. The lots were a quarter acre or less on both homes. How could they demand the money they were asking and not prepare the home for sale?

Then there were the properties my friends put on their A list -- clean and new looking inside; new or near new appliances; cleaned by either a very astute owner or cleaning company; home warranty included in the asking price; plenty of bonus add-ons, such as bonus room, media room, large lot (half acre). All in the same price as the above two properties.

The requirements to get top dollar have and always will be the same:


Clean the house. Thoroughly -- before you put it on the market. If it's not clean, don't even consider putting it on the market. You will lose a contract just because of dust and scum.

Paint the interior. Paint is cheap, but cleans up any dwelling place.

Declutter. Get rid of everything you don't need to live on a day-by-day basis. You don't need your seasonal decorations. The kids can do without half their toys. You can probably live without a third of your furniture. Get it into storage or a friend's house. Space adds value.

Have handouts. With more properties on the market, you need to make sure your house is memorable -- with a good marketing plan that includes a flier the buyers can take with them.

Price right. Look at all the parameters of your house, not just the bedroom and bath count. One of the houses above is sitting on a half-acre lot with a 1-car garage and built in the same year as it's counterpart listed for about the same mount of money, but which has only half as much land and no garage -- not even a carport -- but they're in the same area. (This is mostly the Realtor's job, but a stubborn seller may cause an over-priced listing.)
When placing your house on the market, keep in mind it's more involved and requires more work than selling a used car. We're not talking a difference of a couple hundred dollars on price here. Missing the mark on price and condition could cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

Published: December 30, 2005
Copyright © 2005 Realty Times. All Rights Reserved.

Top Mistakes of Home Buyers and Sellers in 2005
by Mark Nash

The 2005 residential real estate market was filled with anticipation of the sometimes overhyped real estate bubble. Though we'll only see a correction, home buyers and sellers made some mistakes that those looking to buy or sell in 2006 can put to good use in their transactions.

Buyers:

Bought properties to flip at top-of-market prices. Thinking the bubble headlines were wrong or didn't apply to them, newbie real estate investors wanted to become weekend millionaires. What they didn't know is they were buying the experienced investors portfolios as they exited markets at the top.

Utilized interest-only mortgages. Many home-hungry buyers discovered the only way you can pay top-of-market prices is to get an interest-only mortgage. With declining prices and no monthly principal payments, these homebuyers could fuel a foreclosure market in 2006. Fixed-rate mortgages will become the majority in 2006 as mortgage underwriters and educated consumers are reunited.

Overlooked resale characteristics. New construction was the rage in 2005, everyone wanted to select finishes, floor coverings and kitchen cabinets. 2005 buyers should beware when this year's homebuyers become sellers, buyers could bypass their resale that was new in 2005 for the chance to design their own new home. Look to future before signing on the line.

Skipped performing a home inspection. Before some markets shifted away from sellers markets, many homebuyers waived their right to a property inspection. Never, skip or waive the right to a inspection, the benefits far outweigh the costs and could save you numerous headaches and expenses later. Hire a professional, not Uncle Bert.

Misinterpreted developers incentives. Two years free condominium assessments, stainless appliances and plasma tv's were thrown in to induce buyers to write contracts to purchase. What many buyers thought were a freebie were actually a signal that markets were softening and that projects were slow to sell from increased competition and a lack of buyers. Incentives are a band-aid for a languishing development.

Were represented by the same agent representing the sellers. Thinking they might get a better deal, or out of ignorance, some buyers used the listing agent to represent them as well as the seller. Most states require written acceptance of this situation known as dual-agency by both parties under agent license laws. All buyers should be represented by an agent who has a fiduciary responsibility to them. Hire an exclusive buyers agent.

Didn't read homeowners association documents. Getting rid of Fido because you didn't know you were moving into a no-dog building is an example why every buyer should request and read home owner association declarations, rules and regulations, association meeting minutes and budgets. Ask if there are any special assessments (typically for capital improvements; new roofs, windows, elevators) or planned ones. Special assessments can run into the thousands.

Neglected to request rates of state, county or local transfer taxes paid by buyers at closing. Some buyers learn too late that they might need large amounts of extra money to pay transfer taxes in the state, county and city where they are purchasing property. Transfer taxes which typically can't be financed can kill a transaction. Inquire when you start your search how much transfer taxes are and who pays them.
Sellers:


Over-priced home. Thinking back to bragging sellers at the water cooler or at the neighborhood cocktail party as little as a year ago, home sellers in 2005 overpriced properties in record numbers. After chewing up market time, the realization set in that it wasn't the same market as year past. Realistic pricing based on sold comparable's in the last six months illustrates to buyers that you understand today's market.

No Internet property marketing. According to The National Association of Realtors® over 70 percent of all home buyers start their search on the Internet before contacting a real estate agent. Require any agent you list your home with to post a virtual (360 digital) tour and a minimum of eight indoor and outdoor photos on the Internet. CD's of your home are a great take-away for open houses.

Stop showings too early after contract. With a shift towards buyers for the first time in years, buyers remorse was on the upside in 2005. Many sellers lost valuable market time when taking their home off market too early after signing a purchase contract. Continue to show your home until you feel very comfortable that your buyers intend to go to the closing table with you.

Refused to pay buyer's closing costs. For the first time in many years, buyers based on their strength in the market, asked for and received give-backs from sellers. Closing costs and points on mortgages were the most popular. Decide before offers come in what your strategy is for dealing with give-back requests. In 2006 expect owner-financing to be the next buyer perk.

Exclusion confusion. As prices dropped, sellers began to strip fixtures and amenities in contract negotiations. Forget "if the price is right" and take down and replace Grandma's chandelier and remove the mid-century refrigerator for sodas before you place your home on the market. Some simple ratios of home list price versus chandelier cost will convince you to not get distracted by personal property or must-keep fixtures.

Knowing your market and competition. Buyers in 2005 were very savvy with market times and available inventory. Home sellers who were out-of-touch failed to spend the time to visit competing properties at public open houses, study the competitions marketing and "listening" to the market. No or few showings, no second showings or purchase offers and unfavorable feedback indicate market issues with your home. Don't be the obstacle to selling your home.

Paid document fees on top of full-service commissions. American business is in love with extra fees that they charge if you don't ask to have them waived. In 2005 documentation fees became standard in listing agreements. No matter what you're told, they are just another revenue source for brokerages. It's excessive for brokerages to ask for another $300.00 on top of 5-7 percent commissions from home sellers. Either ask to have them waived or have the listing agent pay them.
Mark Nash's fourth real estate book, "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective, which has been featured on CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Fidelity Investor's Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

Published: December 29, 2005

FHA Ceiling Upped to $362,790
by Lew Sichelman

The Department of Housing and Urban Development gave struggling wannabee home owners a Christmas present of sorts last week, raising the limit on government-insured mortgages in 2006 to $362,790 in the nation's most expensive housing markets. The 2005 maximum was $312,895.

The new ceiling on minimal downpayment loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration means that buyers with some blemishes in their credit records can borrow almost as much as those with squeaky-clean credit histories without having to shop for financing in the subprime market where rates are substantially higher.

FHA-insured loans are used primarily by first-time purchasers and minorities who have little or no cash for a downpayment, which is typically the largest single impediment to home ownership.

Although the agency requires a minimum of 3 percent down, borrowers can use gift money to make up for any shortfall in their own funds. And sellers are permitted to cover closing costs up to 6 percent of the selling price.

Also, FHA borrowers do not need a minimum credit score to qualify. and can use gift

By law, the FHA can back loans of up to 95 percent of any given county's median house price. But at the same time, the FHA maximum mortgage amount cannot exceed 87 percent of the limit placed on loans that can be purchased by Freddie Mac, nor can it be lower than 48 percent of the Freddie Mac ceiling.

As of Jan. 1, $417,000 is the new limit on Freddie Mac loans, which are reserved for only those borrowers who have the best credit profiles and represent the least risk to lenders.

In most of the country's 3,000-plus jurisdictions, 95 percent of the median house price is less than 48 percent of the Freddie Mac limit, so the new FHA ceiling -- also known as the "floor" -- is $200,160. In 2005, the floor was $172,632.

But in the 88 high-cost counties where 95 percent of the median exceeds the 87 percent maximum, the new FHA ceiling is $362,790.

In 468 counties, the FHA loan limit is somewhere between the floor and the ceiling.

Although government-insured mortgages are considered riskier than those backed by private insurers, lenders are currently charging a lower rate, according to the latest figures published by HSH Associates, a Pompton Plains, N.J., mortgage information company.

Upfront fees on FHA loans are somewhat higher, including points and insurance premiums, but even lower-income borrowers who have been late on their credit card payments or other bills still can qualify.

The new FHA loan limits cover not only the government's basic 203(b) loan program but also several other key initiatives, including mortgage for disaster victims, rehabilitation loans, loans on properties in declining areas, condominium mortgages and home equity conversion mortgages.

The limits for 2006 also are higher for two, three and four-family properties. For two-unit structures, the range is $256,248 to $464,449. For three-unit buildings, it is from $309,744 to $561,411. And for four-unit structures, is from $384,936 to $697,696.

Published: December 29, 2005

Year-End Slowdown In Housing Market
by Broderick Perkins

Inflation is in check as the economy grows and consumers work and spend more, but the housing market is becoming less and less of a factor as it begins to slip from its post as a leading economic sector.

New home sales plunged in November by 11.3 percent, the largest fall in nearly 12 years, according to the Commerce Department.

The new home median price dropped, too, by 4.1 percent to $225,200. That was up only 0.3 percent from November 2004, revealing a significant slow down from double-digit price increases.

November new home sales slipped everywhere except in the Northeast, where they enjoyed a 13.4 percent surge, the biggest gain since January 1994. Sales were down 22.1 percent in the West, the largest decline since February 1994, while sales fell 18.3 percent in the Midwest and 5.5 percent in the South.

The stockpile of unsold homes rose to a record of 503,000 homes in November, the Commerce Department said.

Analysts still expect sales of both new and existing homes to set records for a fifth consecutive year in 2005, but that will just about do it for record setting this cycle. Analysts are also forecasting sales declines of around 6 percent in 2006 as demand succumbs to the pressure of rising mortgage rates.

"The slowdown amounts to a tapping of the brakes on a hot market," said David Lereah, National Association of Realtor's chief economist

"Home sales are coming down from the mountain peak, but they will level-out at a high plateau ­- a plateau that is higher than previous peaks in the housing cycle. This transition to a more normal and balanced market is a good thing," he added.

NAR's last Pending Home Sales Index released in early December, based on contracts signed in October, dropped 3.2 percent to a level of 123.8 from a reading of 127.9 in September, and is 3.3 percent below October 2004. The reading is the lowest since March of this year.

"The drop in pending home sales is an affirmation that we are experiencing a modest slowing in the housing sector," said Lereah.

Seasonal factors certainly are contributing to slower sales, but some of the slowdown is due to prices moving beyond the reach of buyers. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reported that by the third quarter home prices nationwide had jumped 12 percent this year. NAR says its affordability index is at its lowest level in 14 years.

Interest rates are making homes even more expensive. Just as low mortgage rates buoyed the housing market for years, higher rates are now sinking sales.

Freddie Mac reported recently that fixed interest rates on 30-year mortgages dipped for two weeks down to 6.26 percent, but they are more than a full percentage point above the four-decade low of 5.21 percent set in mid-2003.

The Federal Reserve pushed benchmark interest rates up for a 13th time in December with two more rate hikes expected in January and March as the Fed tries to slow the economy to keep inflation in check.

Meanwhile, the economy is roaring ahead as the Commerce Department reported in late December that the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP), the nation's total output of goods and services, rose at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the July-September quarter -- the fastest pace of growth in 1.5 years.

Businesses added 215,000 workers to their payrolls in November, incomes rose by 0.3 percent and consumer spending rose by 0.3 percent. Early reports indicated online holiday sales -- 24 percent greater than last year's holiday season -- would boost retail sales well into the black.

Consumers are also buying cars and investing in businesses, the Commerce Department reported.

Home sales, however, are not benefiting as they once were from the heavier consumer spending.

Published: December 29, 2005

Has the housing bubble sprung a leak?
The bubble hasn’t burst, but prices aren’t going up as they did a year ago

By Tom Costello
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 6:23 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2005

WASHINGTON D.C. - Are we nearing the end of those sky-rocketing real estate prices? The typical home in America has appreciated 55 percent since 2000. But many areas of the country saw even more dramatic appreciation than that. Now, there’s strong evidence that the record pace is starting to slow. Has the housing bubble has sprung a leak?

Nancy and Phil Marrone spent today cautiously going over new home listings, and doing a few walk-throughs in Northern New Jersey.

They’re worried they’re buying just as the market turns south.
“You may invest in something that you like and then all of a sudden you can’t sell it for anywhere near what you paid for it,” says Phil Marrone. “It is a little scary.”

Real estate experts say that’s unlikely, but that there is a general slowing in housing across the nation.

“The boom has peaked and it’s starting to come down,” says economist David Lereah of the National Association of Realtors. Lereah says the bubble hasn’t burst, but already, prices aren’t going up as they did a year ago.

The average home in Las Vegas went from an annual appreciation of 54 percent in 2004, to 11 percent appreciation through the third quarter of this year.

San Diego slowed from 33 percent appreciation to 6 percent.

Still, New York, Tampa, and Washington D.C. showed no appreciation slowdown.

On average, home prices nationwide are expected to have risen 13 percent this year. But the fourth quarter numbers aren’t in yet and there’s considerable anecdotal evidence of a slowdown. The question is, how much of that is a normal seasonal pattern?

New Jersey real estate agent Richard Nicola says sellers can no longer expect multiple offers and 20 percent annual appreciation.

“Homeowners now really need to price their homes properly,” says Nicola: like a 5 percent annual appreciation.

Today in Sarasota, Joanie Alexander was putting her home up for sale, but fears there’s now a glut of homes on the market.

“I don’t know if this market has peaked or not, so I’m going to ask the price that I think the house is worth, for what I think it’s peaking at right now,” says Alexander. “But if I don’t get it in a couple of months, I will rent it.”

It’s a market in transition from sellers to buyers.

© 2005 MSNBC Interactive

Happy New Year!!!

2005 closes on Saturday and there are events throughout the Garden State to celebrate the opening of 2006. If you haven't made plans, reservations, or if your band of revelers wants to take the party on the road, here's a list of potential New Year launch pads.

HADDONFIELD The entertainment lineup for First Night Haddonfield includes comic Chris Coccia, Tony Williams' Jazz Quartet, Frank Sinatra impersonator Marty Babitz and the Haddonfield Cello Society. Buttons are $10 and can be purchased at Haddonfield Information Center, Susquehanna Patriot Bank, Commerce Bank and PNC Bank. Call (856) 429-4700, ext. 300 or log on to www.firstnighthaddonfield.org.

MANASQUAN The Ninth Annual New Year's Eve Family Celebration of the Performing Arts in Manas quan will begin at 1 p.m. with a dog parade and dog contests, followed by family entertain ment from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will conclude with a midnight celebration at Squan Plaza.
First Night Manasquan 2006 buttons are available for purchase at several retail loca tions in Manasquan, Wall Township, Sea Girt, Brick and Point Pleasant Borough. Prices are $10 through the day of the event and free for children age 3 and younger.

Activities include a carnival, magic shows, musical performances and much more.

For a full schedule, go to www.manasquan-nj.com/public/firstnight.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE Maplewood-South Orange will celebrate its 15th anniver sary by presenting a variety of arts and entertainment programs at Columbia High School. The afternoon program is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fireworks go off at 7 p.m. at Maplewood Memorial Park. The evening program begins at 7:30 p.m., back at Columbia High School.
Acts include The Strollers of Maplewood, the Comic Daredevils, the Ballet of Long Island, the VooDUDES, The David Glukh Klezmer Ensemble and many others.

Buttons - $10 through the day of the event, $15 at the door and free for children age 3 and younger - are available, in Maplewood, at the Maplewood Library, Netnomads, King's Supermarket, Robin Hutchins Gallery and, in South Orange, at the South Orange Library, Mailboxes, Etc., The Baird Community Center and The Goat Café.

For further information, go to www.firstnightmapso.org or call 973-76-FIRST.


MONTCLAIR Legendary singer Richie Havens will be among the acts at First Night Montclair, which last year experienced a sharp rebound with nearly 5,000 tickets sold.
Among the other headliners are The Amazing Kreskin, Nickelodeon Live! with Dora the Explorer and Diego, and children's folk singer Tom Chapin.

Tickets - $15 for adults and $5 for children younger than age 12 - are available at Chase Bank's Montclair locations, Kings Supermar kets, South End Hardware and the municipal building.

A free bus shuttle will run from the Montclair Art Museum and Lackawanna Station throughout the evening.

For a full schedule, go to www.firstnightmontclair.com or call 973-509-4958.

MORRIS COUNTY First Night Morris 2006 activities and performances will take place at more than 25 in door venues in Morristown, starting at 7 p.m.
Buttons are required for admission and are available for purchase at more than 30 retail locations and online at www.firstnightmorris.com.

Prices are: $15 each; $50 for a family four-pack, and free for children under age 4. On New Year's Eve, buttons will be sold for $18 each at the First Night Morris Headquarters, lo cated at 20 N. Park Place.

Performers include the Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre, The Solid Brass Quartet, Big Jeff and His Middle-Sized Band, The Colonial Symphony, The Harmonium Choral Society and many others.

For a full schedule, go to www.firstnightmorris.com. or call (973) 455-0708.

MOUNT HOLLY (BURLINGTON) A plethora of music, art, fun and fireworks is expected at this year's festivities, celebrating "The Year of the Dog." Entertainment lineup to be announced. Buttons are $10; downtown fireworks at 9:30 and midnight. Call (609) 914-0811 or log on to www.mainstreetmountholly.com.

OCEAN CITY The entertainment lineup includes The Drifters, The Flamenco Dance Company, comic Ron Geoffries and the Ocean City Pops. Buttons are $14 and $1 extra for the Ocean City Pops. Call (609) 525-9300 or log on to www.firstnightoceancitynj.com.

OCEAN COUNTY This year, First Night events will be held in Seaside Heights. Wristbands/buttons are $5. Lineup to be announced. www.firstnightoceancounty.org.

RED BANK Red Bank First Night offers a mix of performers from a variety of musical styles and children's activities at more than 20 venues. The two-day event takes place at 6:30 p.m. Fri day, Dec. 30, in downtown Atlantic Highlands and continues at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, in Red Bank.
Buttons - $10 each and free for children age 5 and younger - grant access to all venues on both nights and are available at several retail locations in Red Bank, Atlantic Highlands, Ocean Township, Middletown, Long Branch, West Long Branch, Holmdel and Tinton Falls.

For a full schedule and additional information, go to www.redbankfirstnight.com or call (732) 933- 0541.

TEANECK Lineup and button prices to be announced. Call (201) 287-9730 www.teaneckarts.org.

For more information log on to www.firstnight.com

Real estate shifting to a buyer's market
12/23/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom

So, what do real-estate people think about the suggestion recently made by James Hughes that people not buy a house now -- unless they are planning to live in the place for 10 years?
Hughes, a real-estate expert, is dean of the Bloustein School of Policy and Public Planning at Rutgers and believes that house prices are very high.
"You should always look for the long term," said Colby Sambrotto, chief operating officer of ForSalebyOwner.com, the leading nationwide broker that charges fees, not commissions.
"Market-timing is hard to do. Besides, every time experts have said that you're buying at a peak, prices have continued going up."
Sambrotto, who works out of ForSalebyOwner.com's headquarters in New York City, granted that the market has been cooling off recently in the hottest markets, including New Jersey.
"We could be transitioning to more of a buyer's market," he conceded. "But it's not a cause for panic -- no one should obsess about it. It's not the pop of a bubble. It's just a slight deflation.
"Houses are taking a little longer to sell, but it's not disastrous."
Also commenting on Hughes' advice, Maureen Doyle, broker-manager of RE/MAX Properties Unlimited in Morristown, said, "I don't agree. I think we'll see continual appreciation, but it will be more reasonable. Just not the 7 to 12 percent a year appreciation we've seen over the past four or five years."
Her arguments:
• Interest rates remain relatively low.
• New Jersey doesn't have much land on which to build new houses.
Doyle concedes that the inventory of houses for sale has increased -- up 20 percent in the past year, while sales have increased only 6 percent.
And houses are taking longer to sell.
Has the spike in energy prices had any effect?
Perhaps buyers are looking for places closer to work now, Doyle said. The farther east a house is, generally the more in demand it is. Chatham houses are pricier than those in Morris Township.
A colleague recently sold a house in Chatham for $100,000 more than the asking price -- for close to $1 million, she said. One reason: The house was within walking distance of a train.
Is use of the Internet growing?
Absolutely, Doyle replied. A study by the National Association of Realtors found that more than 70 percent of buyers use the Internet to do research, and they buy faster than people who don't use the Internet: in three weeks rather than in six weeks or longer.
Also in disagreement with Hughes: Dominick Prevete, regional vice president of Weichert, Realtors in North Jersey. "Prices won't decline significantly, but we will return to single-digit appreciation next year," he predicted.
The big change next year will be: Buyers will have more choices and less competition. There also will be fewer bidding wars.
He also predicted that interest rates will stabilize at a high 6 percent or at 7 percent -- still reasonable for most buyers, he said.
Buyers who wait for the bubble to burst will learn that there was no bubble -- and they may miss out on good purchases while waiting fruitlessly for prices to decline, he said.
As for sellers, Prevete said they will be more sensitive to marketing plans in view of the greater competition.
In the past, there might have been only one house for sale in a neighborhood; now, there may be competition. And sellers will have to learn to put more reasonable prices on their houses.
What about the rise in heating costs?
Buyers are more concerned about those costs, he reported. But he hasn't seen sellers improving the insulation of their houses yet.
Among Sambrotto's other predictions:
• As home sales soften, more sellers will turn to fee-only and discount brokers.
• The number of working real-estate agents will shrink.
• Home renovations will stress energy efficiency.
• Buyers will avoid storm-ravaged coastal areas.

Warren Boroson writes about money matters on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (973) 428-6647 or wboroson@gannett.com. He will talk about investing to local organizations at no charge.

Real estate shifting to a buyer's market
12/23/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom

So, what do real-estate people think about the suggestion recently made by James Hughes that people not buy a house now -- unless they are planning to live in the place for 10 years?
Hughes, a real-estate expert, is dean of the Bloustein School of Policy and Public Planning at Rutgers and believes that house prices are very high.
"You should always look for the long term," said Colby Sambrotto, chief operating officer of ForSalebyOwner.com, the leading nationwide broker that charges fees, not commissions.
"Market-timing is hard to do. Besides, every time experts have said that you're buying at a peak, prices have continued going up."
Sambrotto, who works out of ForSalebyOwner.com's headquarters in New York City, granted that the market has been cooling off recently in the hottest markets, including New Jersey.
"We could be transitioning to more of a buyer's market," he conceded. "But it's not a cause for panic -- no one should obsess about it. It's not the pop of a bubble. It's just a slight deflation.
"Houses are taking a little longer to sell, but it's not disastrous."
Also commenting on Hughes' advice, Maureen Doyle, broker-manager of RE/MAX Properties Unlimited in Morristown, said, "I don't agree. I think we'll see continual appreciation, but it will be more reasonable. Just not the 7 to 12 percent a year appreciation we've seen over the past four or five years."
Her arguments:
• Interest rates remain relatively low.
• New Jersey doesn't have much land on which to build new houses.
Doyle concedes that the inventory of houses for sale has increased -- up 20 percent in the past year, while sales have increased only 6 percent.
And houses are taking longer to sell.
Has the spike in energy prices had any effect?
Perhaps buyers are looking for places closer to work now, Doyle said. The farther east a house is, generally the more in demand it is. Chatham houses are pricier than those in Morris Township.
A colleague recently sold a house in Chatham for $100,000 more than the asking price -- for close to $1 million, she said. One reason: The house was within walking distance of a train.
Is use of the Internet growing?
Absolutely, Doyle replied. A study by the National Association of Realtors found that more than 70 percent of buyers use the Internet to do research, and they buy faster than people who don't use the Internet: in three weeks rather than in six weeks or longer.
Also in disagreement with Hughes: Dominick Prevete, regional vice president of Weichert, Realtors in North Jersey. "Prices won't decline significantly, but we will return to single-digit appreciation next year," he predicted.
The big change next year will be: Buyers will have more choices and less competition. There also will be fewer bidding wars.
He also predicted that interest rates will stabilize at a high 6 percent or at 7 percent -- still reasonable for most buyers, he said.
Buyers who wait for the bubble to burst will learn that there was no bubble -- and they may miss out on good purchases while waiting fruitlessly for prices to decline, he said.
As for sellers, Prevete said they will be more sensitive to marketing plans in view of the greater competition.
In the past, there might have been only one house for sale in a neighborhood; now, there may be competition. And sellers will have to learn to put more reasonable prices on their houses.
What about the rise in heating costs?
Buyers are more concerned about those costs, he reported. But he hasn't seen sellers improving the insulation of their houses yet.
Among Sambrotto's other predictions:
• As home sales soften, more sellers will turn to fee-only and discount brokers.
• The number of working real-estate agents will shrink.
• Home renovations will stress energy efficiency.
• Buyers will avoid storm-ravaged coastal areas.

Warren Boroson writes about money matters on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (973) 428-6647 or wboroson@gannett.com. He will talk about investing to local organizations at no charge.

12/23/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Real estate shifting to a buyer's market

So, what do real-estate people think about the suggestion recently made by James Hughes that people not buy a house now -- unless they are planning to live in the place for 10 years?
Hughes, a real-estate expert, is dean of the Bloustein School of Policy and Public Planning at Rutgers and believes that house prices are very high.
"You should always look for the long term," said Colby Sambrotto, chief operating officer of ForSalebyOwner.com, the leading nationwide broker that charges fees, not commissions.
"Market-timing is hard to do. Besides, every time experts have said that you're buying at a peak, prices have continued going up."
Sambrotto, who works out of ForSalebyOwner.com's headquarters in New York City, granted that the market has been cooling off recently in the hottest markets, including New Jersey.
"We could be transitioning to more of a buyer's market," he conceded. "But it's not a cause for panic -- no one should obsess about it. It's not the pop of a bubble. It's just a slight deflation.
"Houses are taking a little longer to sell, but it's not disastrous."
Also commenting on Hughes' advice, Maureen Doyle, broker-manager of RE/MAX Properties Unlimited in Morristown, said, "I don't agree. I think we'll see continual appreciation, but it will be more reasonable. Just not the 7 to 12 percent a year appreciation we've seen over the past four or five years."
Her arguments:
• Interest rates remain relatively low.
• New Jersey doesn't have much land on which to build new houses.
Doyle concedes that the inventory of houses for sale has increased -- up 20 percent in the past year, while sales have increased only 6 percent.
And houses are taking longer to sell.
Has the spike in energy prices had any effect?
Perhaps buyers are looking for places closer to work now, Doyle said. The farther east a house is, generally the more in demand it is. Chatham houses are pricier than those in Morris Township.
A colleague recently sold a house in Chatham for $100,000 more than the asking price -- for close to $1 million, she said. One reason: The house was within walking distance of a train.
Is use of the Internet growing?
Absolutely, Doyle replied. A study by the National Association of Realtors found that more than 70 percent of buyers use the Internet to do research, and they buy faster than people who don't use the Internet: in three weeks rather than in six weeks or longer.
Also in disagreement with Hughes: Dominick Prevete, regional vice president of Weichert, Realtors in North Jersey. "Prices won't decline significantly, but we will return to single-digit appreciation next year," he predicted.
The big change next year will be: Buyers will have more choices and less competition. There also will be fewer bidding wars.
He also predicted that interest rates will stabilize at a high 6 percent or at 7 percent -- still reasonable for most buyers, he said.
Buyers who wait for the bubble to burst will learn that there was no bubble -- and they may miss out on good purchases while waiting fruitlessly for prices to decline, he said.
As for sellers, Prevete said they will be more sensitive to marketing plans in view of the greater competition.
In the past, there might have been only one house for sale in a neighborhood; now, there may be competition. And sellers will have to learn to put more reasonable prices on their houses.
What about the rise in heating costs?
Buyers are more concerned about those costs, he reported. But he hasn't seen sellers improving the insulation of their houses yet.
Among Sambrotto's other predictions:
• As home sales soften, more sellers will turn to fee-only and discount brokers.
• The number of working real-estate agents will shrink.
• Home renovations will stress energy efficiency.
• Buyers will avoid storm-ravaged coastal areas.

Warren Boroson writes about money matters on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (973) 428-6647 or wboroson@gannett.com. He will talk about investing to local organizations at no charge.

NJ: Senior Citizens Threatened by Jump in Property Taxes
By Nora Muchanic

December 26, 2005 - Some Camden Co. Residents are up in arms after receiving notification their property taxes are about to take a big jump.
State law requires municipalities to periodically reassess properties to determine true market value. But when the numbers come in it can be a shock, particularly to senior citizens, who wonder how they'll ever pay the bill.
Jim DeStefano/Vorhees, New Jersey: "Everybody in this room has seen at least a thousand dollar increases. Mine myself has gone up."Irate residents of the Kirkwood section of Vorhees near the Eschelon Mall are in shock over property revaluations that will in some cases increase their annual taxes tenfold. This 87-year-old man's modest house used to be assessed at $73,000.
Charles Juninger/Vorhees,New Jersey: "They raised it to a quarter of a million, $235,000, nobody's gonna give me that money. You talk to the realtor they'll laugh at you."Many of the houses in Kirkwood are converted bungalows built a hundred years ago near a lake, occupied now by senior citizens like Duke and Lillian Beach. Duke has no pension. He and his wife are scared they'll lose their home because their taxes are doubling.
Alice Johnston/Daughter: "His real estate taxes will be $12,000 for the year and he gets $1000 in social security a month. It's not difficult to figure out what kind of impact this will have on an elderly person who's on a fixed income."Some are going up, some are going down, some will see no appreciable change.
Mayor Michael Mignogna says the tax rate is actually going down, so a higher assessment doesn't automatically mean a bigger bill. He says he appreciates the difficulty reassessment may cause for some residents, but points out that properties haven't been revalued since 1987.
Mayor Michael Mignogna/ VORHEES, NEW JRSEY: "For a lot of years a lot of homes and a lot of taxpayers have been paying based on outdated values and that's the purpose of the reval, to bring them up to current values so it's a little more fair."Not everyone's upset. Some homeowners in a different part of town will only pay about $200 more.
Daryn Eikner/Vorhees, New Jersey: "I think a couple hundred dollars is kind of reasonable in today's economy, that you have to expect your taxes to go up."But, say the Kirkwood residents, not by thousands of dollars.
Conyers & Maryann Dean/Vorhees, New Jersey: "I might as well just turn my check over to direct deposit to the township. We're not gonna make it. There's no way."Officials are urging residents who have questions about the revaluation or want to dispute it to contact the tax assessor's office immediately.

(Copyright 2005 by Action News. All Rights Reserved.)

4 groups vie for 2 slot licenses
By CHRIS BRENNAN
brennac@phillynews.com

FOUR GROUPS of investors will file competing applications today to win one of two state licenses to run a casino in Philadelphia.
Three of the potential sites for a casino, with up to 5,000 slot machines, are on the Delaware River and the fourth is in Nicetown.
The four groups - three have made their plans public while efforts for a South Philadelphia site have been shrouded in secrecy - announced their intentions last week by filing local impact statements with city officials.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, created by a July 2004, state law legalizing slot-machine gambling at 14 venues across the state, set today as the deadline for casino applications.
That law also required that the impact statements be filed with local municipalities at least seven days before the state deadline.
The four groups are:
• The SugarHouse Casino, a partnership of Midwest Gaming & Entertainment of Illinois and a group of local investors, including developer Daniel Keating, attorney Richard Sprague, former state Supreme Court Justice William Lamb and auto-sales magnate Robert Potamkin.
This group cut it close to the deadline, signing a deal Monday night to buy the former Jack Frost sugar refinery on Delaware Avenue near Shackamaxon Street.
SugarHouse's chief executive officer, Greg Carlin, said his group planned to spend $450 million - including the land purchase from LHTW Inc. - on a first phase of building a casino with 3,000 slot machines, a theater and 3,200 parking spaces.
The state gaming law allows casino owners to open in temporary structures. Carlin said SugarHouse would either operate from one while building parking garages or purchase a used riverboat casino and dock it on the Delaware River.
The gaming law also requires operators at seven horse-racing tracks and five parlors to have at least 1,500 slot machines operating in the first year, and allows up to 3,000 after that, with later expansion to 5,000 machines.
Two other licenses, for resorts, will allow up to 500 machines.
Phase two at SugarHouse includes more casino space, a 500-room hotel and more parking. A potential third phase might include a second hotel or a residential tower, Carlin said.
• A second riverfront applicant, Philadelphia Entertainment & Development Partners, has not been as forthcoming with details.
New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz and developer Ron Rubin have been working since the summer to assemble a group of investors for the 30-acre site on Columbus Boulevard at Reed Street.
Maureen Garrity, a spokeswoman for the group, declined to comment yesterday.
In its impact statement filed with the city last week, the group did not list any partners.
Bally's originally optioned the land in 1994 as a potential riverboat-casino location. That company later became Caesars Entertainment, which paid $45 million in January for the site, on top of $20 million in option payments.
Harrah's Entertainment absorbed Caesars in June, but later said it could not file an application for the site because of a non-competition agreement with its partners in a horse-racing track being built in Chester.
Harrah's, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it had contributed the land in South Philadelphia to a partnership for an 11 percent interest. A company official in September said Harrah's still owned the land and was acting as the mortgage holder.
• The third riverfront site, the former city incinerator at Delaware Avenue and Spring Garden Street, is now controlled by Riverwalk Casino LP, a partnership between Planet Hollywood and the Pennsylvania Partnership Group.
The local investors include Ken Trujillo, Mayor Street's former city solicitor; Willie Johnson, a major campaign contributor for Street; SEPTA board member Herman Wooden; Philadelphia Parking Authority Chairman Joe Ashdale, and Bill Anderson, a talk-show host on WURD (900- AM).
The board of directors for the Penn's Landing Corp., which controls the city-owned, 11.5-acre site, voted two weeks ago to lease it to Riverwalk Casino until 2089 if it wins a state gaming license.
That vote sparked controversy as the board argued for two days.
Street, who had supported the site as a way for a minority-owned group like Riverwalk to apply for a gaming license, removed his appointee to the board and cast the deciding ballot himself.
• The fourth group, applying for a license on an 18-acre option at the former Budd Co. site in Nicetown, combines high-profile national and local names - Donald Trump and Pat Croce.
The mayor's Gaming Advisory Task Force, in an October report, said the city could maximize its profits in gaming with one location on the Delaware River and another near the intersection of Interstate 76 and U.S. 1, close to the Budd site.
Gov. Rendell had implored Trump to enter the Philadelphia market but was less than impressed when the Daily News reported in May that the Budd site was under consideration.
Rendell yesterday praised the waterfront locations and the Budd site, saying he opposed a Center City casino only because it could harm nearby historic tourism attractions.
Rendell said Interstate 95 serves as a "perfect natural barrier," cutting off riverfront gaming sites from the rest of the city. He added that the Budd site, near his East Falls home, was appropriate because it is industrial.
Rendell said he was not surprised that two licenses in Philadelphia would attract only four applicants while there are six expected applicants for one license in Pittsburgh. He blamed nearby casino competition in Atlantic City, noting that gaming taxes in New Jersey are nowhere near as high as the 54 percent tax rate on Pennsylvania casinos.
The Gaming Control Board will have 12 months to act on today's applications, once it has declared that they are full and complete.
The board, with three Rendell appointees and one each from the state Senate and state House Democrats and Republicans, met for the first time last December and has been beset by delays, including a challenge of the gaming law to the state Supreme Court and a disagreement on how to license slot-machine distributors.
"I knew that when you got into the five-headed decision-making body, it would inherently be slower than what anybody would like," Rendell said. "But I do think it's important to get it right."

Cape May County officials say full evacuation necessary
Cap: Cape dwellers used to take shelter in a big storm but the county is now publicizing a policy to get everybody out following routes to the north and west. They say it can be done within 36 hours.
By Richard Degener
Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 20, 2005CAPE MAY — If you live on Cape Island there is only one place to go in a big storm: Somewhere else.
That is more than a recommendation Cape May County Emergency Management Director Frank McCall delivered to residents of Cape May, Cape May Point and West Cape May at a recent forum held here at Convention Hall. It is actually a mandate.
McCall will be soon be delivering the same mandate to residents in the county’s other 13 towns during a series of six meetings on the resort peninsula. McCall will tell them much of the county is under water even in the smallest of hurricanes, a Category 1, and in a larger storm there is no way out once floodwaters hit.
“People ask, ‘Where are the shelters in Cape May County?’ Ladies and gentlemen, we have no shelters in Cape May County. We want you to get off the Jersey Cape,” McCall said.
Is this because of Hurricane Rita or Hurricane Katrina? No, not really. Those storms may have focused more attention on the issue but McCall said the policy goes back a few years. He said the county planned a series of public outreach forums earlier this year, months before the Gulf coast was hit.
Residents who lived here in 1985 when Hurricane Gloria passed by remember being sent to evacuation shelters, often the local fire hall. These unofficial shelters were supposed to be made official after a 1992 study on hurricane evacuation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Red Cross, and New Jersey State Police.
“It listed 397 shelters in Cape May County, including 50 here on The Promenade, 75 to 80 on the Wildwood boardwalk, and 25 on the Ocean City boardwalk. I refused to sign off on the plan,” McCall said.
Instead of shelters, those areas are now referred to as “staging areas” for a mass evacuation. McCall said the agencies have all agreed there is no place in the county to ride out even a Category 1 hurricane.
Hurricane Gloria and U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May both played a role in the decision to not shelter people in a storm. The Coast Guard evacuated to Fort Dix three days before Gloria hit. The small boats were taken to Philadelphia and the big boats were taken out to sea into deep water.
“Everybody left the U.S. Coast Guard base except the guy in the gatehouse,” McCall said.
The decision was made easier when maps came out showing the amount of flooding a direct-hit hurricane would bring. Only the northwest corner of the county, and a narrow strip of high ground in the center of the peninsula, would be dry. Most of the roads out will be under water once the storm hits.
The county is publicizing a map to show there are many ways the 105,000 year-round residents, but up to 1 million on a hot summer day, can get out. The Garden State Parkway, Route 47 and Route 9 are the major northbound routes, though with the bridge at Beesley’s Point closed McCall notes Route 9 travelers would have to link to a road like Route 83 at some point.
McCall said the evacuation could be done in 20 hours but it might take as much as 36 hours at the height of the summer tourist season. He said several steps would be taken to help the exodus, including:
Route 47, between Route 83 and Route 55, would be made one-way northbound;
Tolls would be suspended on the parkway
Atlantic City Expressway would be one-way westbound.
As the lowest lying area of the county, and the farthest from safety, Cape Island residents technically would be evacuated first. The reality, McCall told residents, is the order would be given to the whole county at the same time. Southern county residents have farther to go and could find themselves behind everybody else. West Cape May Emergency Management Coordinator Dan Rutherford said locals must take such an order seriously.
“We need people to leave and leave early,” Rutherford said. “As (Deputy Coordinator) Paul Mullock says, ‘Brace for wind but run from water.’” he added.
While Gloria brought a mandatory order to evacuate to a nearby shelter, the next order will be to leave the county. McCall said three hurricanes have followed a similar track as Gloria since 1985 and could have led to such an order. With better science and communications, McCall is confident an order won’t be given unless absolutely necessary.
Residents asked if Route 55 could be finished or certain bridges could be widened. McCall urged them to pressure the officials that can make such things happen.
The meetings are also to update the public on other emergency efforts, including some outgrowths of the Sept. 11 attack. The county is prepared to respond to terrorist attacks through its CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive) training. Prosecutor Robert Taylor led tours of the new $336,000 Mobile Command Unit purchased with Homeland Security funds. The vehicle has equipment allowing communication with all agencies no matter what radio frequency they are using.
“It won’t be like Katrina where they couldn’t talk to their parishes and state police. The problem at the World Trade Center is they couldn’t evacuate the building because they couldn’t talk to each other,” Taylor noted.
They should be able to talk now, even it’s just to say one thing: Get everybody somewhere else.

By Richard Degener Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Avalon, Stone Harbor to increase seasonal beach-tag fees
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005The price of sun, sand and someone watching your back will become a bit more expensive in Stone Harbor and Avalon.The two municipalities are raising seasonal beach-tag prices to compensate for costs of lifeguards, beach maintenance and other expenses.Stone Harbor expects to raise an additional $50,000 from the increase, Borough Administrator Kenneth Hawk said.Preseason and in-season prices will each increase by $2.This year in Stone Harbor, the sale of beach tags raised $529,000, about $13,000 less than last year, said Chief Financial Officer James Nicola. But running the beach cost $560,000."It's the wages for the lifeguards. It's the cost of running the tractor that rakes the beaches. The cost of gasoline," Hawk said. "We haven't done a change in a few years. We'll make this change, and we probably won't have another change for a few years."Prices for daily and weekly tags will not increase.Stone Harbor and Avalon sell their own tags. But the tags can be used at both beaches, and both municipalities try to keep the costs the same.Preseason tags, those sold before June 1, will cost $17, Hawk said. After that, tags will cost $22.In Avalon, beach tags recover about three-quarters of the operating costs, Avalon Business Administrator Andrew Bednarek said.This year in Avalon, beach tags brought in $796,000. Bednarek said beach-tag fees were last raised in 2002, when seasonal tags were increased by $3.Avalon expects the new increased fees to raise an additional $75,000, Bednarek said.Normal expenses, coupled with a planned $3 million beach-fill project in Avalon next year, make the sand business an expensive one.Stone Harbor Borough Councilman Barry Mastrangelo, who serves on the borough's Beach and Recreation Committee, said the borough would not increase beach-tag costs more than necessary."It's really not a profit center. You're looking to offset the expenses of maintaining the beaches," he said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Marina Bay refinancing approved in N. Wildwood
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 27, 2005NORTH WILDWOOD-Residents of Marina Bay Towers, a senior citizens affordable housing complex on New York Avenue, are a little more relaxed this week.The building's 200 residents had spent much of the past several months concerned about the future of their homes as the project's developer sought state permission for a financing plan for the complex.Developer Paul Cocoziello, head of The Rubicon Cos., said the refinancing was necessary after the complex accumulated $11 million in unexpected debt because of rehabilitation work and building delays. The plan tied the sale of bonds through the Essex County Improvement Authority with the issuing of federal tax credits that would in turn deliver funds to the building project.Without the new financing, Cocoziello said there was a possibility the 142-unit building could go into foreclosure and its low-income housing status would be in jeopardy.The complex is open to people ages 62 and older with incomes between $15,000 and $21,000 per year.But before the refinancing could go forward, the project needed the state's Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, or HMFA, to agree to issue the tax credits. The agency, however, had more questions for the developer and would not issue the credits until its questions were answered. In an e-mail to The Press, HMFA spokeswoman Jennifer Monaghan said those issues have now been resolved."HMFA is pleased to announce that it completed its review process for the Marina Bay Towers project, and has executed the documents necessary to effectuate tax exempt bond financing," Monaghan said.She continued, "HMFA committed to the residents that it would do everything in its power to protect the residents and their homes, but also had to abide by the rules of the IRS. HMFA has accomplished that goal."Cocoziello said he appreciated the work of the HMFA in resolving the issue and helping "achieve long-term stability for the Marina Bay Towers and its residents."Joe Bakanowsky, head of the tenants association, had spent many hours pondering the building's fate and called news of a solution a great day."We know we will be able to stay in our affordable apartments right here at home by the bay in North Wildwood," he said.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com

WILL REAL ESTATE PRICES STAY UP?
Monday, December 26, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.com

A number of astute financial observers have remarked on the prevalence of investors to assume that a trend in motion will continue, and most likely, will do so indefinitely. Such a belief is almost omnipresent in today’s real estate market. For true believers, which apparently includes almost all holders, real estate always goes up, and always will. As Tim Iacono, writing on financialsense.com says, “And why not? Nothing in the last 10 years would lead anyone to believe that home prices do anything but go up.”Iacono then proceeds to draw parallels to 2001’s energy trading market, exemplified most strikingly by Enron. Like Enron, the public must ask themselves, “is the business model (of real estate) valid?” Even if it isn’t flawed, are parabolic price rises really sustainable into perpetuity?Iacono concludes: “Like the hourly Enron worker with a million-dollar retirement account in 2001, the hourly California worker with a million-dollar home in 2005 looks to the future with every expectation that what they've come to believe in recent years will continue.”

DSstaff reports - Free-Market News Network

Tiny Port Republic grows in a big way
By MEGGAN CLARK Staff Writer, (609) 272-7209
Published: Sunday, December 25, 2005

Updated: Sunday, December 25, 2005PORT REPUBLIC-The church is the tallest building in town, and the beautiful old homes that line Port Republic's quiet streets date back to the 1800s. The town hub is the general store, which has a post office in the back. That's the way Port Republic's appoximately 1,000 residents like it.But appearances can be deceiving. More than 70 residential building permits have been issued since 2003 - in a town of a few hundred homes - and the planning board recently approved an 18-unit subdivision along Moss Mill Road.The school hasn't felt the impact yet, according to Superintendent Rose Fiore, and locals say they haven't noticed too much development. But it's coming.According to the Department of Labor, just 34 building permits were issued in Port Republic during the 1990s, an average of between three and four per year. Four permits were issued in 2000, seven in 2001 and six in 2002.Then the explosion happened. The city issued 27 residential building permits in 2003, 25 in 2004 and had issued 19 as of this September. According to Mayor Gary Giberson, Port Republic is "the fastest growing community in Atlantic County.""Its been a very slow growth over the years but you get one or two subdivision and it's a pretty big boost, I bet," said Mike Turner, a local resident who owns half the land subject to the 18-lot subdivision.Still, Turner doesn't believe Port Republic is being built up as quickly as the building permits would indicate."I know there haven't been that many houses built," he says. "It's probably been more than ever before but not that many."Not yet. But get ready.The owner of the other half of the 18-unit subdivision property, Cornerstone Communities of Galloway Township, is already building. Cornerstone is planning a "mansion home community" of nine houses, each on five to seven acres of land. Set back from the road, private, with 30-foot walls at the entrance, the homes will start at $1 million. Two are under construction.Cornerstone President Mark Dellinger said he expects his buyers - doctors, lawyers, casino executives and company owners - will be attracted by Port Republic's well-regarded small school and by the quaint, rural feel of the city."You're two miles away from all the action, but you're still really quite back there in the country," he said.Sure, nine homes wouldn't be a big deal in neighboring Galloway, where a development of more than 900 is before the Planning Board. But it's big for Port."Twenty-five units out there, if they only have 400 or something, it's a lot," Turner said. "If you want to put it that way, yes, (the city is growing rapidly) - rapidly for Port."

Costly state fire-code has B&B owners thinking condo
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Friday, December 23, 2005

Updated: Friday, December 23, 2005OCEAN CITY-Some Cape May County bed and breakfast owners say the state's fire code is driving them out of business.They want lawmakers to exempt B&Bs from state Department of Community Affairs' regulations that say guesthouses with four bedrooms or more must have either sprinklers or enclosed stairways.But many of these historic buildings were built around their sweeping staircases. And adding sprinklers is exorbitantly expensive."I get this state fire guy from the DCA come in and write me up for 49 violations," said Bruce Lubar, who owns a historic guesthouse on Wesley Avenue in Ocean City.Most of the violations concerned the building's lack of fire sprinklers and its open stairwell that would let smoke from a first-floor fire fill the second floor of his 1902 building."I wrote a letter up to the state. Why would you ruin the aesthetic value of this historic building?" said Lubar, a 52-year-old businessman who also owns a restaurant.B&B owners said they already feel pinched by a 13 percent room tax, changing tastes among their clientele and growing pressure to go condo, said Larry Muentz, owner of Alexander's Inn and Restaurant in Cape May."By action if not by design, the state is conspiring here against B&Bs. A lot of owners are saying, 'I'm going to convert to a condo or whole-house rental,'" Muentz said.The state Division of Codes and Standards could not be reached for comment Thursday.Condos or whole-house rentals are not subject to the same fire-code regulations, the B&B owners said. And if owners of these historic homes try to sell to other prospective B&B owners, they have to disclose the fire-code problems. That makes it increasingly unlikely these homes will remain historic B&Bs, Muentz said."We've probably lost 10 or 12 B&Bs in Cape May to apartments or whole-house rentals. Four or five have gone condo," he said.Muentz said he spent as much as $100,000 in 1991 to install a 78-head sprinkler system in his inn. His inn was closed for four months during the renovation. The B&Bs are turning to state lawmakers for a solution. Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, met with about 25 owners in Ocean City and another 50 people in Cape May."I thought it was just a Cape May problem. Next we found Ocean City has the same problem," Van Drew said.Van Drew said the state should be more flexible in resolving fire-code issues in historic buildings."While we absolutely must maintain public safety, we have to ensure we maintain these historic structures and don't lose them to condominiums," Van Drew said. "We're losing these buildings very rapidly. We don't want to make it more lucrative for hotel owners to knock down their historic buildings and build condos."Lubar said his guesthouse will be open this year. But he plans to hire legal counsel to help guide him through the fire-code red tape. The alternative, he said, is to sell."It won't pay to do these upgrades. I'd rather just get rid of it," he said. "But who's going to spend $1.3 million on a guest house? The only people you can sell to are other people who would live in it as a big house."

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:

State DOT rejects bids for O.C. bridge project
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Friday, December 23, 2005

Updated: Friday, December 23, 2005OCEAN CITY-The state Department of Transportation on Thursday rejected bids for a new Route 52 causeway, one of the most ambitious and expensive transportation projects the agency has undertaken.The lowest of the three bids came in $93 million higher than the $150 million the state has budgeted for the first half of construction."The bids were deemed noncompetitive based on federal criteria," DOT spokeswoman Erin Phalon said.Despite the setback, the state still intends to replace the four dilapidated bridges linking Ocean City and Somers Point with a new causeway. But the high bids will delay construction for at least six months as engineers study their options. The state had hoped to begin construction early next year."It in no way is an indication the project is not moving forward," Phalon said, adding that it is too early to say whether the state will scale back the scope or amenities originally planned for the new causeway. The project as designed boasts twin 2.5-mile-long bridges that span 35 feet high over the Great Egg Harbor Bay. The two-phase project includes a pedestrian and bicycle walkway, a boat ramp and fishing pier, a parking lot, a new Ocean City Welcome Center and the removal of the Somers Point traffic circle, among other things.The low bidder was the joint venture of Agate Construction Co. of Dennis Township, Cape May County, and Granite Halmar Construction of Mount Vernon, N.Y., with a bid of $243 million. The high bid was $267 million.Phalon said the state's engineers will look at alternate bridge designs that might be less expensive. Likewise, the state is not ready to pull the plug on any planned improvements."It doesn't mean any amenities or features of the bridge are in jeopardy at this time," she said. "We'll look at what, if anything, can bring the costs down."Likewise, any delay in construction created by the bid rejection will not affect the state's planned funding scheme, she said.Since the project already has federal and state financing approvals, the DOT will follow through with its plans to borrow money through Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles or GARVEEs. The Route 52 causeway is the first state transportation project to be funded through this borrow-now, pay-later method.This cost-shaving will take several months, into early summer, Phalon said.Cape May County Engineer Dale Foster said it is improbable the state would save money by rebidding the same project in the hope of attracting more bidders. Few companies have the resources to tackle a project of this size.And out-of-state contractors sometimes encounter labor issues with unions when working in New Jersey, he said. All three companies that placed a bid already have local ties to New Jersey, he said.The state has many things to mull, including the sequence of construction, he said."I have a feeling they'll be looking at everything. They have a lot of money to cut," Foster said. "There are some rather burdensome restrictions placed on the contractor as far as working on the water."For example, construction crews on the Ocean City-Longport Bridge had to work around the piping plover nesting season. Similar environmental restrictions no doubt will affect the Route 52 causeway, which crosses wetlands and marshy islands, Foster said.The DOT might be able to save some money by working around some of the environmental regulations, he said."Time is money. If you have all that equipment in the bay and you have to shut down for some fish migration or fish breeding, that's a lot of cost sitting out there," he said.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

Gov. signs bill to allow land swap in Sea Isle
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 22, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey signed a bill into law Wednesday to give clear property ownership rights to nine homeowners caught in a bizarre land dispute.The law gives the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, the legal authority to convey the property back to 47th Place homeowners, DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said.The law is a big step, she said. But the process is not over.Brian Buckley, who became a spokesman for the 47th Place homeowners, was pleased with the bill's passage but will remain cautious until everything is ratified."The bill doesn't state all the details. It just gives the authority to the DEP, so long as all parties are in agreement," Buckley said."We're thrilled, we're optimistic," he said. "But this has taken so long, it's not done until it's done."Mayor Leonard Desiderio said the whole process had the ups and downs of a roller-coaster ride."The legislators did their job getting it through their respective houses and getting it done in record-breaking time," Desiderio said.Desiderio said he will schedule a meeting with the DEP to confirm that the land swap of city-owned land means that the city will not be held liable by title companies for selling that land in the 1960s."I just want to make sure the city is going to be held harmless, which we're sure is going to happen," Desiderio said. "It was never an issue. All along I believe all parties were in agreement that the city would not be held liable for anything that happened in 1942."Desiderio said he also wanted to confirm with the DEP that the city-owned property used in the land swap will be conserved for open space."I just want to sit down with the Commissioner's Office and make sure we know the lands, that they know the lands they are getting, and to ensure that these two minor little things are accomplished," he said.On Feb. 9, 1942, Sea Isle City sold title to the area to the state to dredge. The price was $1. The title change allowed the state's former Board of Commerce and Navigation to dredge a waterway.The titles to land at 47th Place were never returned to Sea Isle City. However, in 1965 - more than 20 years later - Sea Isle City held a public land sale. In January 1966, the city confirmed the land sale at 47th Place, which was sold to a developer, who filled the marsh and sold individual lots.And that was that.It wasn't until 2003 when the DEP's Bureau of Tidelands Management discovered the discrepancy.In May, the agency sent letters to nine property owners who live on six lots at 47th Place.The letter included the phrases, "the State of New Jersey claims title to your entire property" and "the City sold land it did not own and you eventually bought a portion of that land."The homeowners were stunned.They met several times with DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who drove to Sea Isle City to attend afternoon meetings.But clearing the titles proved a difficult process.Sea Isle City offered two city-owned lots on 29th Street in exchange for the 47th Place parcels. When a deal between the DEP and the city appeared ready to pass, the state Attorney General's Office said that legislation would be needed to close the deal.But that revelation came in late November. A bill would have to move quickly to pass the lame-duck Legislature. The bill passed through the Assembly, the Senate, and was signed by the governor in less than a month."I think, once in a while, the process works," said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. "This is a case where the process really works and in record speed."

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

O.C. man's N.J. slogan could be 'love at first sight' for the state
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Updated: Wednesday, December 21, 2005OCEAN CITY-Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey will name five finalists today for the new state slogan.Then residents from Cape May to Sussex counties will get to vote "American Idol"-style for the winner.One top-5 slogan was pitched by retired Ocean City lawyer Anthony Fulginiti. His vision: "New Jersey, love at first sight.""I was looking for something short and sweet and positive. That was the first thing that popped in my head," said Fulginiti, who is the husband of Cape May County Clerk Rita Fulginiti.The governor's office will release the other four slogans today. Staffers kept them under wraps Tuesday."We're having a big press conference," spokeswoman Kelley Heck said.The governor will invite residents to pick their favorite by phone or on the state's Web site: www.nj.gov/slogan beginning today. Voting will continue through Jan. 1.Codey solicited ideas from residents in October after he was dissatisfied with a paid consultant's gem: "New Jersey, we'll win you over."Think it's easy? Try summarizing New Jersey's attitude, history, people and places in four words.More than 4,000 people obliged. Fulginiti said he pondered the idea for a second and then tapped his chestnut on the state's Web site."I think it's a fun slogan. I think it's cute. It didn't offend anyone," he said.Fulginiti, 63, said he agreed with Codey that the consultant's slogan - designed to win over tourists -had negative connotations. He said he hopes the winning pick will improve New Jersey's image."We have our problems but every place does. The biggest misconception is that the (New Jersey Turnpike) is the be-all and end-all of New Jersey. I rarely travel the New Jersey Turnpike," he said.The state slogan will be used in advertising and promotions, said Karen Wolfe, a spokeswoman for the state Commerce Commission."It's a definite part of any marketing effort to attract visitors. Tourism is a $32 billion industry. The shore itself generates more than half of those tourism revenues," she said."It reinforces the message: We have a great place to visit, to vacation," she said.The state's last slogan was, "New Jersey and you, perfect together," under former Gov. Christie Whitman. Since then, the state has used, "New Jersey: Get away without going far away."But Wolfe said Codey wanted something new that would resonate with tourists.The sloganeering debate was an easy target for late-night TV. Codey gamely discussed the flap during an interview/rib-roasting with the mockumentary "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."This likely gave New Jersey more tourism exposure than the slogan itself. But tourism officials said New Jersey needs a strong slogan to keep pace with other vacation destinations. "We want to come up with something that shows the pride residents have in our state," said Joann DelVescio, director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce.On April 20, 1920, the chamber declared Ocean City "America's Greatest Family Resort." The label stuck. More than 85 years later, it still appears on entrance signs and city letterhead.Will New Jersey residents embrace "love at first sight?" Fulginiti hopes so."My chances are at least 20 percent," he joked.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com