Welcome to another edition of Lowball!
Lowball! takes a look at home sales from a different perspective. For those new to Lowball!, a lowball offer is when a buyer offers a significantly lower bid than asking in hopes that the seller accepts the offer. We take a list of home sales from the past month and pick out the sales that have the highest percentage difference between original list price and selling price.
The purpose of Lowball! is to show buyers that the market has changed and buyers now have considerably more leverage than sellers. Just a short time ago, Lowball! offers would have been laughed at and discarded, however, not any more. The fact that so many under-asking offers are being accepted is clear proof that the market is changing.
| MLS# | Town | OLP | LP | SP | % off LP | $ off LP |
| 2368012 | Oxford Twp. | $8,000 | $5,000 | $4,000 | 50.0% | $4,000 |
| 2304950 | West Orange Twp. | $649,000 | $399,900 | $350,000 | 46.1% | $299,000 |
| 2272503 | Alexandria Twp. | $899,000 | $499,000 | $500,000 | 44.4% | $399,000 |
| 2306192 | Edison Twp. | $649,900 | $599,000 | $362,500 | 44.2% | $287,400 |
| 2361990 | Ringwood Boro | $349,888 | $299,888 | $200,000 | 42.8% | $149,888 |
| 2298084 | Montvale Boro | $1,899,000 | $1,199,000 | $1,155,000 | 39.2% | $744,000 |
| 2305085 | Chatham Twp. | $1,699,000 | $1,199,000 | $1,100,000 | 35.3% | $599,000 |
| 2308568 | White Twp. | $185,000 | $159,900 | $127,500 | 31.1% | $57,500 |
| 2274148 | Saddle River Boro | $4,750,000 | $3,275,000 | $3,275,000 | 31.1% | $1,475,000 |
| 2274382 | Hillsborough Twp. | $1,425,000 | $1,098,000 | $999,000 | 29.9% | $426,000 |
| 2293051 | Rutherford Boro | $899,900 | $799,900 | $640,000 | 28.9% | $259,900 |
| 2372197 | Roselle Boro | $245,000 | $245,000 | $175,000 | 28.6% | $70,000 |
| 2323597 | Washington Twp. | $479,900 | $349,900 | $349,900 | 27.1% | $130,000 |
| 2307799 | Readington Twp. | $1,199,999 | $999,500 | $880,000 | 26.7% | $319,999 |
| 2337613 | Newark City | $1,200,000 | $995,000 | $882,000 | 26.5% | $318,000 |
| 2233795 | Bernardsville Boro | $995,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | 24.6% | $245,000 |
| 2276485 | Roxbury Twp. | $419,000 | $315,000 | $318,000 | 24.1% | $101,000 |
| 2047631 | Boonton Twp. | $5,800,000 | $4,600,000 | $4,450,000 | 23.3% | $1,350,000 |
| 2260814 | Hardyston Twp. | $389,999 | $325,000 | $300,000 | 23.1% | $89,999 |
| 2324123 | Wharton Boro | $424,900 | $399,900 | $330,000 | 22.3% | $94,900 |
| 2209674 | Paterson City | $1,149,000 | $999,000 | $900,000 | 21.7% | $249,000 |
| 2356137 | Stockton Boro | $220,000 | $220,000 | $175,000 | 20.5% | $45,000 |
| 2321907 | Hampton Twp. | $475,000 | $430,000 | $378,750 | 20.3% | $96,250 |
| 2355043 | Sparta Twp. | $1,499,900 | $1,499,900 | $1,200,000 | 20.0% | $299,900 |
| 2314562 | Fanwood Boro | $549,900 | $459,900 | $440,000 | 20.0% | $109,900 |
| 2249970 | Lebanon Twp. | $449,900 | $379,000 | $360,000 | 20.0% | $89,900 |
| 2297862 | Vernon Twp. | $309,000 | $249,000 | $249,000 | 19.4% | $60,000 |
| 2352514 | Mountain Lakes Boro | $899,000 | $722,900 | $725,000 | 19.4% | $174,000 |
| 2233902 | Green Brook Twp. | $989,000 | $849,000 | $800,000 | 19.1% | $189,000 |
| 2262636 | Vernon Twp. | $784,900 | $669,900 | $635,000 | 19.1% | $149,900 |
| 2363869 | Frankford Twp. | $219,900 | $219,900 | $178,000 | 19.1% | $41,900 |
| 2348763 | Lambertville City | $462,500 | $395,000 | $375,000 | 18.9% | $87,500 |
| 2291858 | Linden City | $320,000 | $269,900 | $260,000 | 18.8% | $60,000 |
| 2353810 | Teaneck Twp. | $429,900 | $379,900 | $350,000 | 18.6% | $79,900 |
| 2311730 | Montague Twp. | $129,900 | $119,900 | $106,000 | 18.4% | $23,900 |
| 2267860 | Harding Twp. | $2,199,000 | $1,999,000 | $1,800,000 | 18.1% | $399,000 |
| 2326023 | Verona Twp. | $299,000 | $259,000 | $245,000 | 18.1% | $54,000 |
| 2341169 | Nutley Twp. | $549,000 | $499,900 | $451,000 | 17.9% | $98,000 |
| 2255520 | Franklin Boro | $215,000 | $190,000 | $177,000 | 17.7% | $38,000 |
| 2262195 | Rocky Hill Boro | $745,000 | $629,900 | $615,000 | 17.4% | $130,000 |
| 2316269 | Berkeley Heights Twp. | $998,900 | $899,500 | $825,000 | 17.4% | $173,900 |
| 2301521 | West Milford Twp. | $690,000 | $579,900 | $570,000 | 17.4% | $120,000 |
| 2296338 | South Bound Brook Boro | $269,900 | $239,900 | $223,000 | 17.4% | $46,900 |
| 2312528 | Harding Twp. | $950,000 | $859,000 | $785,000 | 17.4% | $165,000 |
| 2304005 | Phillipsburg Town | $144,900 | $126,000 | $120,000 | 17.2% | $24,900 |
| 2282128 | Byram Twp. | $453,000 | $395,000 | $376,000 | 17.0% | $77,000 |
| 2304486 | Woodbridge Twp. | $259,000 | $225,000 | $215,000 | 17.0% | $44,000 |
| 2321414 | Plainfield City | $449,900 | $409,900 | $375,000 | 16.6% | $74,900 |
| 2372409 | Union Twp. | $299,900 | $299,900 | $250,000 | 16.6% | $49,900 |
| 2356332 | Jefferson Twp. | $149,900 | $149,900 | $125,000 | 16.6% | $24,900 |
Sales data can be found here: Sales-Apr07a.xls (In Excel format)
2332938 in fort lee what was it? Had to be a condo since houses cost 2-3 times as much?
‘Upside Down’ Home Sellers Owe More Than They Get
By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 20, 2007; A01
Jeffrey Taylor and his wife bought their dream home in Purcellville for $538,000 last August. Now they have to sell it because they are getting divorced and neither one can afford the mortgage alone.
The most they could get for it was $430,000. After paying all the real estate commissions and taxes, they will still owe the bank $118,000.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/19/AR2007041902924_pf.html
Thanks JB, and thanks for including the spreadsheet too!
Is it possible to get the lowballs if any on towns like Tenafly, Cresskill, Alpine, Demarest, Closter, Cliffside Park, Fort Lee, Franklin Lakes etc?
Can you get lowball for spring lake and spring lake heights?
Everyone would be shocked to see homes selling not only way below asking but 20% or more below assesed! The assesment was done at the height of the market in 2005. This would be a great guage for the shore, since everyone thinks Spring Lake is untouchable by a real estate down turn.