Sunday Open Houses Draw Crowds, Realtors See Market Upswing

Sunday's 43 open houses across Westfield drew crowds, as local realtors said that the real estate market has been showing signs of improvement.

The open houses were held as part of the National Association of Realtors National Open House, which as staged to help promote the first time buyer tax credit the federal government is offering for buyers who enter into contract by the end of April. Realtors said a steady stream of potential buyers were going in and out of homes during the afternoon.

"It is a lot of action," said Naasa Sherbeini from Coldwell Banker, who was working an open house on Marcellus Drive.

The crowds for the open houses have been from a range of locations. Realtors reported seeing many from Westfield and neighboring communities seeking to move to a larger home. A large amount of Hoboken and Jersey City residents were seen by realtors during the day, along with a group coming in from Manhattan and Brooklyn. Many of the urban dwellers were looking to move before the birth of their first child. Several out of town couples were seen house hunting in the community, including a family from Boston who was showing interest in a Dorian Road property.

"We're getting a lot of people in from Jersey City and Hoboken, young families," said Anne Weber from Coldwell Banker, who was staffing an open house on Folkston.

Several of the young families showing interest in the Westfield open houses could be overheard questioning realtors about the quality of local schools, location of parks, walking time to the train and the quality of downtown businesses. Several of the potential residents said the quality of the schools and the community feeling of Westfield were high on their list when deciding to look in town.

At several open houses, neighbors could be seen touring the homes, checking out what brought certain prices to the neighborhood and seeing how their neighbors live.

Many of the young families and urbanites looking in Westfield have been showing an interest in new construction or older homes that have been renovated. This includes modern bathrooms and kitchens, along with upgraded roofs and energy efficient windows. The realtors said many of the urbanites, used to the new construction which dominates the Hoboken and downtown Jersey City rental landscape, want to avoid having to make many major upgrades to their new homes. Most want to center their improvements on cosmetic issues including new paint and carpeting.

The $600,000 to $800,000 price range has been moving the fastest in Westfield, along the high $400,000 to $600,000 range. Many of the buyers have been the first time buyers, including those seeking the tax credit, or those trading up to a larger home or trading in an urban condo for a suburban lifestyle. These price ranges have been common in seeking homes needing little work to them.

"Buyers are not looking to do huge fix-ups for under a million," said Jayne Bernstein from Coldwell Banker, who was running an open house on Dorian Road.

Bernstein and her colleagues reiterated the old realtor mantra of the right price will help the sale of a house. They noted that homes that are overpriced for the neighborhood have not been moving as fast. Bernstein said she has been seeing homes slightly over a million selling well because of proper pricing.

Out of the town's 9,500 properties, approximately 150 are currently on the market. Several of the realtors said this is a downturn from several years ago before the real estate downturn. The realtors did note that Westfield was helped during the real estate downturn due to the location along the rail line.

The rail line thought process has been backed up by Jeffrey Otteau, the president of Otteau Evaluation Group and the editor of a widely read New Jersey market report. Otteau has been quoted in The Real Deal, a real estate industry publication based in Manhattan, for the last several years that the train line communities in New Jersey have been helped by the transit hub during the market downturn.

While the realtors involved in the open houses were pleased with the interest in Westfield, several said there were downsides to having so many open houses during the course of one day. They noted that many of the potential buyers were trying to fit in as many open houses as possible and there was not enough time to show the in-depth features of the house and answer questions. The realtors are hoping to follow up with many of the potential buyers to discuss the homes more in-depth later this week.

"It's mixed," Kerry McDeavitt of Weichert said of the open houses. "There are so many open houses. I have had 20 people in here. Because there is a lot to see, they don't spend a lot of time in each."