Spring has sprung in South Jersey...

June 2007

As you begin to read this column in June, 2007, it is the start of the Summer Rental Season...that time frame from mid-June through early September when the sleepy South Jersey resort towns change into crowded rental locations, with lines for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and the various amusement activities on the Boardwalks and downtowns throughout South Jersey. It is a “seasonal” phenomenon that has a history that goes much longer than this writer has lived. Families come and go, but many families have historic links via summer rentals and home ownership throughout these resort communities.

It is certainly difficult to beat the hot summer sun, cool ocean breezes, changing ocean temperatures, and that sand-between-your-toes environment that comes with all of this seasonal activity. I recall my son working as a beach tag guy one year, behind a hotel counter another year, and so on, goes the story for many other families. Indeed, the summer seasonal rental (for whatever length) is a reality in South Jersey.

But we are also in a “Buyer’s Market” throughout South Jersey as well. By tradition, sales activity tends to slow down in the summer months since so many properties are occupied by rental tenants. It is also much more difficult to get around seeing sale properties during the summer months in resort communities due to the change-over traffic on a Saturday, as well as the increasing traffic throughout the week.

But I’m predicting that more people may start talking like “Buyers” this summer for a variety of reasons. The interest rate remains favorable for making a purchase right now. The sale property inventory is quite high, with many potential buyers seeing property “that may be at its lowest point” in quite some time. Finally, most of the negative hype about buying has changed to a more positive reframe, meaning that “it may just be that time to buy.”

So as you walk the streets of your favorite resort community, drive around in your car, or simply read the local newspaper, I believe you will be seeing a lot of advertising about summer “open houses” where Realtors try to catch the Saturday and Sunday ebb and flow of the resort...and maybe even more “open houses” as families head to the beach in the late morning effort to obtain their favorite beach location.

I’ve always been a great proponent of the “open house” approach to marketing, and possibly selling, a sale listing. It’s also a great way to meet property owners and interested buyers who take the time to visit your sale property.

But during this particular summer you may just get a much larger crowd for many of the reasons noted earlier. Visiting open houses is an excellent way to learn about the local market in any resort area. My favorite way to do that is by bicycle, because you can cover a bit more ground, maybe hit four or five open house properties. Over a few days or weeks you should have a variety of insights from different Realtors, as well as some good numbers to compare different kinds of property in several locations. It’s a good start to the “buying process.”

Remember that the most important factor in that buying process is the individual Realtor. Just as Realtors are checking out visitors and buyers, those same visitors and buyers are able to check out the individual Realtors.

Finding the appropriate, knowledgeable, and right agent for you, the buyer, remains an important first step that must receive enough time in order to make the remaining steps in the process that much more of a meaningful process for you.

Dustin A. Peters is an Agent with French Real Estate, Inc. – Ocean City, NJ. He invites readers of this column to submit comments and questions to him at DustinPeters@Realtor.com.