News was out that the real estate market was picking up.  Mary and Jim, who had been neighbors for years with nearly identical homes, decided it was time to sell, both with the same agent and broker.  With the positive news, Jim decided to price 5% above what his agent suggested (after all, he wanted negotiating room and the home had many nice features).  Mary, on the other hand, followed her agent's advice on price.  While Mary quickly received multiple offers and ende [...]

There is still a tremendous amount of Short Sale activity on a national level.  We've seen an increase over the past few years to about 306,000 short sales in 2011, and a predicted 500,000 in 2012, according to JPMorgan and CoreLogic.  Also, in the past month, the National Association of Realtors reported that 14% of sales in February were short sales.  So, what's the trend in Middlesex County? According to data from the Middlesex County Multiple Listing System, 13.6% [...]

Click to view the video Spring has sprung! National reports are that real estate activity is up. Is that what we're seeing with homes in Central Jersey? Andrew Zastko of Gloria Zastko Realtors shares the driving force behind some of the latest trends, as well as some of the opportunities for buyers and sellers in the near future In This Month's Zastko Report: A look back at activity in Middlesex County in January 2012 compared to the year before Why the monthly payment [...]

With all the preparations going on in the Brunswick area of New Jersey for Hurricane Irene, it's a good reminder to make sure your home is properly protected.  There are always certain things you can do, depending on what the weather is.  However, no matter what you do, some things are simply unpreventable, which is why the number one thing you can do is make sure your home is properly insured.  What do we mean by that? There are many homes in Middlesex County th [...]

The heat is on in Central Jersey real estate.  Although there is a deluge of tough news regarding real estate, many major financial resources such as the Wall Street Journal, CBS Money Watch, Forbes Magazine and National  Public Radio all concur in their advice .."It's Time to Buy a Home Now" and it is also a  a time to sell now The lowest interest rates in decades make this the optimum time to move in, up or out.  It is not the price of the home that is i [...]