Well-maintained, full of character and customizable in a location that blends urban and suburban living: That was the common status of two North Jersey homes that sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking price within days of one another.
Located on opposite ends of historic Glen Ridge are 28 Oakwood Ave. and 15 Sommer Ave., both listed at the end of January by Amy Owens, realtor and team leader of the Amy Owens Real Estate Team at Keller Williams NJ Metro Group. The homes yielded selling prices of $999,999 and $852,500 — or $350,000 and $253,500 over asking — on April 1 and March 28, respectively.
“Just nothing had come on the market at the time, and I thought to put these two homes on the market on the same weekend,” Owens said. “One of the reasons that I put them both on the same weekend was because a lot of buyers won’t come out just to see one house. So, I explained to both of the owners that it’s good to have another house because you’ll get more buyers out and then they’ll decide which one is right for them.”
Each home did in fact attract more buyers, with the properties collecting a combined total of 64 offers during their time on the market.
Owens said this popularity is credited to the centralized location of each property, and that each home offered the opportunity for the next owners to make their own improvements and add personal touches.
“That’s something that all buyers should be looking for right now when they buy a house, especially since we’re in such a high market,” she said. “What’s the upside of the house? What can I do to add value to it?”
28 Oakwood Ave., Glen Ridge
28 Oakwood Ave, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 | Zillow
Built in 1925, 28 Oakwood Ave. is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom side hall colonial-style home in the northernmost neighborhood of Glen Ridge. The property features a brick fireplace in the living room, a sunroom that can double as a home office or playroom, a finished basement, a fenced yard and a one-car garage. It is also located near Brookdale Park and the Glen Ridge Country Club.
Owens said that the previous owners of the home had opted to preserve some of the home’s character, rather than renovating the property to have a mainstream, modern look. She believes this played a big role in the demand for the home, as it felt warm and inviting to potential buyers.
“They didn’t bastardize the house,” she said. “There’s a beautiful marble used in the kitchen, which wasn’t pristine and perfect. You could tell it had been loved and used, but it was still really pretty.”
Cathy Miller, a realtor with Keller Williams NJ Metro Group who represented the buyers of the home, said her clients were relocating from Italy, having been transferred to New Jersey for work. They were specifically drawn to Glen Ridge because of its proximity to New York City for work, as well as for the area’s highly-rated school system.
“Interestingly, my clients were doing research and this area was coming up as the highest on their Internet searches, so that shows you also that there’s a lot of press about this area internationally,” she said.
Miller said her clients were ideally looking for a smaller home. She said that while the home on Oakwood Avenue was on the smaller side for Glen Ridge, it was a normal size property for her clients’ European standards.
Additionally, she said they were drawn to the property not only because it didn’t require a lot of money in repairs, but also because it had some features that reminded them of Italy.
“They told me they particularly felt at home in the house because it had some characteristics that reminded them of Italian properties, like the ribbon trim and the wood floors,” she said. “They also didn’t want an open layout. They wanted a kitchen that was more enclosed. Open layouts are a very American concept, and in European homes, that’s not really a concept that caught on. So, they liked the fact that the kitchen was a little more separate from the rest of the house.”
15 Sommer Ave., Glen Ridge
15 Sommer Ave, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 | Zillow
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom colonial-style home at 15 Sommer Ave. is located at the southernmost end of Glen Ridge, near neighboring West Orange and East Orange. Built in 1937, the home offers a living room with a brick fireplace, a sunroom that opens to the backyard, a one-car attached garage and a spacious backyard with a patio.
“It has this great sunroom off of the back that looks over the yard, which is the perfect size,” Owens said. “It also has the opportunity for the new owners to make a true primary suite, and I think that’s something that appealed to a lot of people.”
Sara Whitley, a realtor on the Amy Owens Real Estate Team at Keller Williams NJ Metro Group, represented the buyers of the home. She said that the mix between suburban neighborhoods with large homes and spacious yards, as well as access to vibrant downtown areas, is what attracted her clients to Glen Ridge.
When looking at the property at 15 Sommer Ave., Whitley said her clients were attracted to the homes layout, as well as the fact that the property had not been overly updated. She said one of the biggest factors for them was that it was a clean slate for them to add in their own style.
“Part of what spoke to them was actually that the layout was almost identical to the home of their friends in Montclair. So, they felt kind of this kindred spirit with the home,” she said. “This home, while staged beautifully and maintained impeccably, certainly needed a bit more updating over time, and they were actually looking for something they could really put their mark on.”
During their home search, Whitley said her clients had put in offers on three other homes, including the property on Oakwood Avenue, but were not accepted. Because of this, Whitley said they had to regroup to determine what steps they needed to take to secure the home on Sommer Avenue.
“I think a lot of buyers get frustrated and feel like there’s some sort of bait-and-switch happening. I think that it’s important for them to understand that that’s not what’s happening. What’s happening is that the demand is simply extremely high and inventory is incredibly low,” Whitley said. “So, it’s really important to work with someone who can at least try and meet those expectations and guide you to what a winning number should be in a particular house.”
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.
We’re officially in the thick of the spring housing market, and we’ve already seen an increase in real estate activity across the country. But there’s always one week that’s expected to stand out the most for homeowners looking to sell their property.
This year, Realtor.com has deemed the week of April 14-20 as the best week to sell nationwide. This week is expected to combine higher buyer demand, lower competition from other sellers and fewer price reductions than what is seen during a typical week.
“We looked at six different metrics that all kind of captured inventory on the market, time on the market and prices,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. “So, we looked at all six of those metrics and we looked at how those metrics move both nationally and within a metro area over the course of a year. We weighted all of those equally and looked at where that perfect sweet spot is where you’re bringing together all of those metrics.”
What makes the third week of April the best time to sell nationwide?
The third week of April is expected to have a favorable balance of market conditions for sellers, including elevated prices, increase buyer demand and lower competition from other sellers, Jones said.
“We kind of found that optimization point where you’re seeing prices that are over the average price for the year but time on market that’s faster and less competition from other sellers,” Jones said. “You can expect to see good demand for you home because there aren’t too many sellers in the market quite yet, and you can see your home sell quickly.”
In terms of home prices, media listing prices are expected to be about 1.1% higher — or $7,400 more — than the average week, and home costs could be about 10.4% higher — or $34,000 more — than they were at the start of 2024.
While active inventory was 7.9% higher at the start of 2024 compared to 2023, the highest beginning-of-year inventory since 2020, inventory was still 39.7% lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the report. As a result, it is predicted that there will be 13.7% fewer homes on the market during the best week compared to the average week.
Home listings are also expected to receive about 18.4% more views during the best week than the rest of the year. According to the report, this week in 2023 had 22.8% more views per listing. So, if mortgage rates see a significant drop this spring, we could see a greater surge in buyer demand sooner.
Homes are also expected to sit on the market for as few as nine days, or about 17% faster than during an average week.
When is the best week to sell in North Jersey?
While the week of April 14-20 may be the best time to sell nationally, March 31 to April 6 is the best week to sell in the New York metropolitan area.
In our region, median listing prices are expected to be 5.2% more — or $38,000 — during this week than they were at the start of 2024, according to the report. There are also expected to be 16.7% fewer price reductions during this week than there are during the average week.
This week is also anticipated to yield 7.1% fewer active listings than during an average week, resulting in 16% more views per property. And, active listings are expected to stay on the market for 11 fewer days than during an average week.
“While we did determine that this is the optimal week, the weeks surrounding it are also really good weeks to sell. This may bring together a tiny bit of favorability either on price or other seller competition, whatever it may be, to make it really the best week. But, in general, if you’re not ready to sell that week, that’s okay,” Jones said. “It’s still a good time of year to start thinking about putting your home on the market, being on the early side of spring and the busy season, so you can get in there and get buyer attention before there are a ton of other sellers in the market who are also vying for that same attention.
Sellers should start preparing their homes to sell now
There’s just about a month until the national best week to sell arrives, and even less time until the best week to sell in the New York metropolitan area. So, if you’d like to take advantage of this time, you better start preparing now.
“Even though it is the best time to sell — it’s the selling season and there are going to be buyers looking for a home — buyers are still probably going to be a little bit picky because they’re paying a lot for a home right now. So, the best way to prepare is to have realistic expectations,” Jones said.
Preparation not only involves doing things like finding a real estate agent and ensuring that your home is priced attractively, but also making any repairs, deep cleaning the interior and adding a fresh coat of paint to the inside of the home. You can also take some time to improve your home’s curb appeal by adding plants and colorful flowers to the front of your home, as well as repainting things like your garage door, fences and railings.
“I think that, in general, the consistency of it is a little bit comforting because even though mortgage rates are moving around and all of this stuff feels very out of control, those typical seasonal housing dynamics do continue and they do persist,” Jones said.
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.