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Home pricing trends improve affordability

Princeton touted for good values

By Katie Wagner
Staff Writer
   While real estate prices in much of the nation are slumping, Princeton homes are maintaining good values, according to borough and township tax assessor Neal Snyder, a view also supported by area real estate agents.
   Homebuyers in Princeton are still sure to get less house for their money than they will in a neighboring town, but because prices of homes in Princeton are not accelerating at the rate they were a few years ago, they are becoming more affordable for buyers, Mr. Snyder said.
   ”Generally, homes are selling at double of what they were assessed at back in 1996,” he added.
   For the most part, the prices of Princeton homes have remained flat, according to Mr. Snyder. However, the prices of smaller single family homes in the borough and the township have been appreciating, but at a lower rate than between 1999 and 2005 — when Princeton homes experienced the most appreciation ever, he added.
   According to representatives from local real estate agencies, these smaller two- and three-bedroom single family, detached homes are still the rarest breed of real estate in both the township and the borough.
   ”It’s a smaller market and a more limited market,” said Heidi Dittloff, marketing director for N.T. Callaway.
   In July, a total of 146 houses were for sale in the borough and the township, with only 17 falling in the lowest price range, she added.
   ”It’s a very small percentage compared to the overall inventory number,” Ms. Dittloff added. “There’s not a lot of the lower priced homes out there, but the numbers of them being sold are pretty significant.”
   According to Mr. Snyder, the lower priced homes have generally been selling the fastest in Princeton throughout the past two years.
   ”The smaller homes look like because of (their) affordability that they appreciated more than some of the bigger homes,” he added.
   Ms. Ditloff said she thinks small three bedroom homes with nice lot sizes are selling for prices that are more realistic for the buyers than they were a year ago, and are now between $600,000 and $700,000.
   According to N.T. Callaway, at the beginning of July, 17 homes with listed prices between $450,000 and $850,000 were for sale in Princeton. By the end of the month, six of those had been sold and sales of another six were pending, meaning that contracts were signed but payments were not made.
   ”The numbers of these types of houses on the market in Princeton have been pretty consistent from July 2006 to July 2007, fluctuating between 10, 13 and up to 17,” Ms. Dittloff said.
   According to Suzy DiMeglio, a real estate agent for the Princeton Borough office of Gloria Nilson, over the last couple of years, people looking to buy homes have seen more choices all over the country.
   ”It’s a buyer’s market and someone looking to buy a smaller home in Princeton between the $450,000 and $800,000 price range can definitely find one,” Ms. DiMeglio said. “In 2005, it was definitely a seller’s market. We got into a lot of bidding wars in Princeton in 2004 and 2005.”
   Ms. Dittloff declined to connect Princeton homes to national real estate trends.
   Princeton is not really impacted by the economy and the national real estate market than your average Midwest town, Ms. Dittloff said. In Princeton, prices depend more on what the area has to offer, she added.
   ”In the Princeton area, I think we’re holding steady (with the value of homes),” she said. “Other parts of the country are getting hit a little harder by adjustments in the real estate market.
   ”When people talk about Princeton, they really think of Princeton as high end and sort of luxury property,” Ms. Dittloff added. “Princeton has that draw. It has the university, Palmer Square and wonderful schools. It really has a lot to offer.”
   Mrs. DiMeglio also attributed the relatively high prices of Princeton homes to various amenities she thinks the township and borough offer.
   ”We have a town theater, the train, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dow Jones. There’s all kinds of industries that keep people here,” she said. “It has a town center and it’s halfway between New York City and Philadelphia.
   ”You can go anywhere in the world, people know Princeton,” Mrs. DiMeglio added.