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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://www.bparkes.com/utility/FeedStylesheets/rss.xsl" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"><channel><title>Rutgers Alumni Real Estate Blog</title><link>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/default.aspx</link><description>For those looking for a connection to someone in the real estate industry in NJ. I personally work in the Northern New Jersey  real estate market. If you are looking for a Realtor to work with, consult with, bounce ideas off, etc...I'm here to help.</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><generator>CommunityServer 2.1 SP1 (Debug Build: 61019.2)</generator><item><title>When should I buy?</title><link>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/archive/2008/02/10/when-should-i-buy.aspx</link><pubDate>Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:08:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">17275ae0-c784-411e-aa3b-0b585572f61e:252723</guid><dc:creator>Brian Parkes</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/comments/252723.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/commentrss.aspx?PostID=252723</wfw:commentRss><wfw:comment>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=252723</wfw:comment><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;Well, when you are ready. What does that mean? Depending on where you are in life and your goals- housing may play a larger role at certain points. Let&amp;rsquo;s start with this- National Association of Realtors reports that on average home&amp;nbsp;prices double every ten years. In these 10 year cycles we have had 4-6 year cycles of price fluctuations.&amp;nbsp; So now we&amp;nbsp;have an idea of how the market moves.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;I would&amp;nbsp;suggest you&amp;nbsp;catch the right part of the wave- that best&amp;nbsp;benefits your investment and time frame.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;For example, if you are looking to live in a condo for a few years and the market is at the six year peak-- you are looking to stay only a year or two, it may be best to&amp;nbsp;wait. If you can not find a&amp;nbsp;unit at the right price or in a very desirable area may be best to wait a little bit.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;Are you&amp;nbsp;ready to catch the wave?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;Yes, but how can I predict the bottom?&amp;nbsp;You&amp;nbsp;can&amp;#39;t.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Finding the&amp;nbsp;the exact bottom-eludes even the savviest investors.&amp;nbsp;However, some basic observations one&amp;nbsp;can see the adjustment in prices, days on market (DOM) and contracts written; this have been the case&amp;nbsp;over the last 15&amp;nbsp;months.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"&gt;Long story short- we are looking for the bottom....rates are low, inventory is up and many buyers are still on the sidelines. You have it all to yourself; TAKE YOUR PICK-just be realistic, not everyone has to sell- nor are they going to give it away. Do your homework and work with a broker&amp;nbsp;you fell comfortable with!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.bparkes.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=252723" width="1" height="1"&gt;</description><category domain="http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/archive/tags/BUYING/default.aspx">BUYING</category><category domain="http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/archive/tags/MARKET+TRENDS/default.aspx">MARKET TRENDS</category></item><item><title>Thinking about real estate and looking for answers</title><link>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/archive/2007/10/17/thinking-about-real-estate-and-looking-for-answers.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:01:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">17275ae0-c784-411e-aa3b-0b585572f61e:201351</guid><dc:creator>Brian Parkes</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/comments/201351.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/commentrss.aspx?PostID=201351</wfw:commentRss><wfw:comment>http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=201351</wfw:comment><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you have any questions about Northern New Jersey Real Estate --- I&amp;#39;m here to help!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Back in 1999 I was getting ready to graduate from Rutgers and take on the world. I worked, as one would&amp;nbsp;say,&amp;nbsp;on Wall street for a handfull&amp;nbsp;of years. . The last thing I was thinking about was owning the roof&amp;nbsp;over my head. I&amp;#39;m sure you have heard those around you talking about the great sums of&amp;nbsp;money made investing in&amp;nbsp;real estate during the boom&amp;nbsp;and how you must get in. I have seen and heard many stories about real estate, good and bad. So I decided to look into it for myself and had&amp;nbsp;taken a great interest in the profession.&amp;nbsp;After some due dilligence,&amp;nbsp;I&amp;nbsp;decided to follow my passion and become a Realtor. I&amp;#39;ve had the good fortune and determination to make it as a Real Estate Broker/Associate. As a real estate professional...I truly enjoy what I do for a living.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I am in this for the long run and look to foster lasting relationships with a job well done!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;This is where the BLOG comes in--if you have questions and looking for a Realtor to walk you through the process,negotiate on your behalf,&amp;nbsp;ask questions, advice etc...let&amp;#39;s get started.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.bparkes.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=201351" width="1" height="1"&gt;</description><category domain="http://www.bparkes.com/blogs/rutgersrealestate/archive/tags/Rutgers+Alumni/default.aspx">Rutgers Alumni</category></item></channel></rss>