The owners of a split level in Demarest didn’t want an open house.
So, Risa Corson of Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s Closter/Alpine office set up appointments, over three days, for three hours each day. Sixty people toured the home and more tried to get in but were turned away because they didn’t have an appointment, she said.
“Every one said they had never seen a house so well maintained,” Corson said. “It was bright and airy.”
Though well kept, the home didn’t have a modern kitchen or bathrooms. But it is “on a lovely street and had enough yard.”
Corson had been in touch with the sellers for more than two years, having previously found them a rental for the wife’s mother, and the couple told Corson they would let her list their home after the husband retired.
At the beginning of the year, Corson heard from them again and conveyed that there were very few houses on the market so it would be a good time to list, rather than wait until next year, like the couple was thinking.
“I suggested if they can list by March they may be at an advantage,” she said, adding they could only list the home if she could find them a place to rent for a year because they couldn’t move down south until the husband retires. She did find them a rental.
And the house was listed in March. Two days after showings began they asked for best and final offers. There were 38 – more than any listing in her office has ever gotten, Corson said.
The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom split level was listed for $949,000 and closed May 29 for $1,218,000. That’s $269,000 over the asking price.
The offer that was chosen was not the highest but had the best terms for the seller, she said.
The median sales price of a home in Demarest was $925,000 as of April, according to data from New Jersey Realtors. That’s a decrease of nearly 18% from a year ago when the median sales price for a single family home was $1,125,000.
Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.
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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
