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JerseySmarts.com

President Obama’s First Evening Press Conference

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President Barack Obama had his first primetime press conference last night. If you watched, I wonder if you saw as interesting an event as I saw… Ha ha ha! Honestly, that press conference would have been off of my television if FOX had its normal Monday night line-up on!

Really, President Obama needs to liven things up a bit. We’re looking for change from him, not the same old boring “what the hell is he talking about?” crap! I will say, though, that it was nice to watch the President of the United States and not have to worry about him saying something that made absolutely no sense. On the other hand, while the rest of country goes crazy over Obama’s speaking style, I really, really hate it. I know that the biased liberal media will never publish a negative thing about his speaking style, but this man relies on “ehhh” and “ihhh” WAY too much when he talks. Go back and listen to the entire speech (if you can stomach it) and try to count how many times he interjects “ehhh” and “ihhh” in a single sentence. It’s alarming.

Again, the alternative could be, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…you can’t fool me twice.” Good grief.

But even as I take my own potshot at President George W. Bush, I have to say that it was a little gross that Obama cited the federal leadership of the last eight years as the reason for the current economic downturn. Look, I agree with the rest of the gang that the folks running the world down in Washington were a little goofed up, but that includes the Democrats, too. Further, the biggest perpetrators of our current problems were the greedy people on Wall Street and the ignorant people on Main Street. The root of this downturn is the devastated housing market. The root of the devastated housing market are people who were buying $500,000 homes when they could only afford $150,000 homes. The side-root of that same problem were the bankers who gave mortgages to people who couldn’t afford their homes!

Ugh…it’s not all about Bush! I had hoped that Obama would bring this country past the Bush derangement syndrome, but after his campaign-style speech last night, I guess that real change hasn’t come…yet.

New Jersey Real Estate Still Not in Sync With the Nation

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Everyday we read stories in the newspapers and watch reports on television and online about how housing prices are plummeting and folks are being forced to lower the sale price of their homes to respectable levels in order to sell. Unless, of course, you live in certain areas of New Jersey. The New Jersey Real Estate Report blog had an excellent post about this the other day. From the article which is reprinted in their post:

New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., was the nation’s least affordable major housing market for the second consecutive quarter. In the New York market, 10.6 percent of the new and existing homes sold during the third quarter were affordable to those earning the area’s median family income of $63,000.

You get that, folks? If you live up in the Wayne area of New Jersey then only 10% of the homes being sold are affordable for those making $63,000. In other words, you need to make $63,000 per year in order to afford only 10% of the homes that are currently for sale in this part of the real estate market. I have a sneaking suspicion that this data holds true the further west and south that you go in New Jersey at least through western Morris County and northern Ocean County.

What’s the end result of this mess? Simply enough – it’s the continued existence of a large inventory of homes for sale on the market throughout most of New Jersey. The sellers are a varied bunch. Yes, you have some greedy people who refuse to sell their real estate without making an exorbitant return for this market (15% – 24% above their purchase price). My landlord is a great example of this greed. A townhouse in the same development as I currently live in is on the market for $250,000. It’s the same exact three bedroom, two and a half bath townhouse that I currently live in, just down the street. Yet my landlord is only willing to sell the place that I currently live in for $315,000. No budging on that price, either (believe me, I tried). Greed like this is destroying the real estate market in New Jersey.

Yet on the other hand there are a lot of people who are in over their heads and are now stuck with mortgages that exceed the market value of their home. These folks could not be expected to sell their real estate without covering their existing debt, but at the same time a buyer cannot be expected to purchase a piece of real estate for more than its market value. What are strapped sellers and eager buyers to do?

Most realtors are still harping on their mantra of their industry – “Now is the time to buy.” You’ll hear this from most realtors no matter what the market conditions. One great thing about the New Jersey Real Estate Report is that they provide comparison busters for their readers. In other words, your realtor will provide you with comparisons to show why the price on a home is in line with the market. It is, of course, in their best interests to show you comparisons that are generally in line with what the seller is asking (higher is better). Why is higher better? Simple – the higher the home price then, usually, the higher the commission the realtor makes on the deal.

If you’re out there looking for a new home, I’d suggest checking out the New Jersey Real Estate Report so you can at least get the truth about the market where you are shopping.

In the mean time, check out Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!

A North Jersey Landmark Closing Down

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Today’s Daily Record had a great article talking about the Dover Lanes bowling alley closing down. Dover Lanes is a “family” and “fun” landmark in Morris County and North Jersey and it will be missed. I remember when I was in a weekend bowling league at the alley as a young kid and I would bowl with some of my friends from the Lake Rogerene area – it was a good time! From the article:

A sharp decline in business at the 34-lane alley was responsible for the decision to close, according to Dover Lanes’ manager, Joyce Reynolds.

On Tuesday night bowlers were moved by the sight of workers already dismantling Lanes 29 through 34.

Ms. Reynolds has been the manager at Dover Lanes for as long as I can remember. I hope that she lands on her feet. It’s also interesting to note that a sharp decline in business is being marked as the reason to close the alley down. Circle Lanes in Roxbury has much higher prices and a really awkward ball return system that is guaranteed to destroy your bowling ball and yet they’re still in operation. Weird. More from the article:

Atlanta-based developer Trammell Crow Residential announced in 2005 that it wanted to buy the bulk of the properties on Bassett Highway and tear them down to make way for a residential and retail development with hundreds of apartments. Although the company’s plans for the street are still alive, the completion of a deal that would allow the beginning of construction has been slowed by the slump in the housing market. As a result, Trammell Crow has yet to reach the required development agreement with Dover’s Board of Aldermen.

Dover Lanes, along with the other businesses in the proposed development area, are allowed to remain in their current locations until a development agreement is reached. But Reynolds said the mere announcement of Trammell Crow’s plans prompted the managers of many leagues to decline to renew their contracts with Dover Lanes because they feared the alley would be shut down in the middle of their leagues’ seasons.

Two interesting points here. First, to knock down that entire street and put up contemporary developments will absolutely ruin the character of the town in that part of Dover. There is a certain charm about that area which can be restored if those in charge just focus their efforts! But knocking down the entire block and putting up “hundreds” of apartments and retail on the bottom? Talk about gentrification at its worst.

Second, how interesting that the redevelopment plan – which appears to be an economic development as much as a residential project – actually caused this local business to cave. Isn’t that the exact opposite of what economic development plans are supposed to bring to the table? And since I’ve had ample opportunity to sit in many of the brain storming meetings for these economic development plans, I can tell you that no one is thinking about having a bowling alley as part of the new development. Other than restaurants and the occasional bar, it’s extremely rare for an economic/residential stimulus project to have any night life associated with it – even night life as low-key as a bowling alley.

What a shame. Morris County and North Jersey loses another local hangout that brought people together to have good old-fashioned fun.