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For Immediate Release: NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS CAPITALIZE ON OPPORTUNITIES IN LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKETSRecent Buyers and Sellers Share Their Stories with the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®(Edison, NJ) Despite national headlines suggesting that the real estate market is stagnant, New Jersey residents have recently found opportunities in the state's real estate market. These real life experiences have been compiled by the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) in an effort to highlight the opportunities that exist in the state's local markets. "While there are many facts and figures available to New Jerseyans through our new website, www.REALstoryNJ.com, we felt it would also be helpful to show the real estate market from the perspectives of the buyers and sellers themselves," said NJAR® Executive Vice President Jarrod C. Grasso, RCE. "There are many first time buyers, trade-up buyers and people selling their homes in a variety of regions of the state that have reported having positive experiences despite the barrage of negative national headlines." Tim and Marie Baker recently bought a single family home in North Arlington and had this to say about their experience: "What surprised me was that there is a perception that none of the banks are lending any money and that's really not true- as long as you have good credit and a good REALTOR® to help you, most people will find they are immune to any large obstacles." The Olefson family, Jonathan, Allison and their two children, recently sold their home in Tenafly earlier this year and later purchased a home in Closter after a brief move to Amsterdam. "Our discussions with our REALTOR® focused on setting a realistic price that would drive traffic while at the same time would obtain the highest possible price. We did not want the house to linger on the market for months and become stale. We wanted to present a clean home that was a fair value to potential purchasers." Kerri Kushner, a single woman in her mid-twenties, took advantage of a mortgage assistance program to buy her home in Old Bridge this year. "[My boyfriend and I] were really just looking at first, but were surprised by the great opportunities out there. The news out there is that everyone is just trying to get rid of houses and the market is so bad, but my friends are thinking now 'if she can do it, so can I.' Eric Bonham and Laura Levins, first time buyers, bought a single family home in Blackwood (Gloucester Township). "We definitely saw it as a buyers' market. We monitored houses online, and continued to see the prices decrease. Our budget remained the same throughout the process, but we ended up buying a better home that we now plan to live in for a longer time than expected." Marijohn Mazza recently closed on her condo in Spotswood. "I attended a first-time home buyer seminar that I learned about through a postcard in the mail, which was an important guide in helping me go through the process step-by-step. For me, it was a very smooth process and it turned out where my mortgage payment was actually lower than my rent." NJAR® is encouraging New Jersey residents to Get the REAL Story SM on real estate in New Jersey with a public education campaign that features an informational website, www.REALstoryNJ.com, designed to assist potential buyers and sellers in learning about New Jersey's real estate market, and a newly-launched advertising campaign that also features real stories from recent buyers and sellers. "While some areas afford more opportunities than others right now, we encourage people contemplating buying or selling their homes to educate themselves on their local real estate market," said 2008 NJAR® President Drew S. Fishman, CRS. "By going to www.REALstoryNJ.com or by contacting their local REALTOR®, New Jerseyans can take that first step towards homeownership and begin their own success story."
For more information on the campaign, or
simply to Get the REAL StorySM on real
estate in New Jersey, visit
www.REALstoryNJ.com. # # #
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