A home in West Orange had a lot going for it when it hit the market.
It has a first floor ensuite bedroom, a large living room with a fireplace, it’s close to shops, transportation and schools and it has a great yard for entertaining.
And that’s not all. The home was in a price point that draws both entry level buyers and downsizers and it underwent extensive staging prior to being listed.
The home was listed October 30 for $699,000 and closed January 8 for $826,000. That’s $127,000, or 18%, over asking price.
“It’s above and beyond the majority of homes in West Orange and yet we’re seeing multiple offers across market because of low inventory,“ said Vanessa Pollock a realtor and sales associate who leads the Pollock Properties Group, which is part of Keller Williams Realty. Denise Payne, a realtor on her team, was the lead listing agent for the home.
Pollock’s team spent months working with the sellers to prepare the home to be listed. She uses a plan that includes seven Ps — prepare, project manage, pack, purge, presentation, pricing and procuring a buyer.
“There are very few buyers who are wiling to take on fixer-uppers,” she said. “They’re busy with their jobs. They don’t have a contractor on speed dial. You bring a larger buyer pool by doing the work for them.”
She pulls from the 4,000 staging items she keeps in a 5,000 square foot warehouse to stage the home. Helps the homeowner pick paint colors that will maximize the natural light in each room and has them change out light fixtures and do other tweaks to maximize the home’s potential.
The living room was staged to elongate it.Courtesy of Vanessa Pollock of Pollock Properties Group at Keller Williams Realty
“We wanted the living room to feel elongated and make it feel like it was conducive to conversations around the fireplace,” she said.
The home was listed on Wednesday. Showings began on Thursday and open houses were held Saturday and Sunday. There were 21 private showings and 43 groups came through the open house.
“Our industry shifted slightly in August when, nationwide, all the rules changed,” Pollock said. “It affects how commissions were displayed and the relationships with clients.”
A byproduct of that is that some buyers only shop for homes by going to open houses. “They don’t want to sign with a buyers agent right away,” she said. “They want to get a feel for a neighborhood before they sign.”
The backyard has a dining gazebo and an outdoor fireplace.Courtesy of Vanessa Pollock of Pollock Properties Group at Keller Williams Realty
That helped bring a large turnout to the open house for this home, she said.
Pollock declined to share how many offers the home got.
The offer that was accepted was the best overall package, she said. “It’s not just about price it does have to include timing and terms for it to make sense for the family who is selling.”
The home was priced at $699,000, which is between a competitive (“the lowest price the seller can stomach”) and market price (priced like an appraiser would value it), Pollock said.
The price range of $500,000 to $999,000 is the hottest price point in North Jersey, she said. “When you get to the $650,000 to $850,000 range, it’s go time,” she said. “That’s the highest activity.”
The median sales price of a home in West Orange was $687,500 in November, according to the most recent data available from New Jersey Realtors.
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.
