There are so many ways to do real estate right but so many more ways to make the biggest mistake of your real estate life.

If you're trying to sell your home in Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Chatham or the surrounding areas, have you thought about these common mistakes?

Are You Failing to Market Your Home in Different Ways?
Don't market your home with just a for-sale sign. Explore other marketing tools as well. Talk to your real estate agent about the marketing that they will do. It's something that should be set up from the initial signing of a contract with an agent. Some homes have virtual tours and photographs online. If you choose to go that route, don't forget to include the floor plans. That way, people can see the layout of your home and know that if it it's right for them. Macy & McKee are experienced real estate professionals who know how to show your house in its' best light.

Are You Failing to Showcase Your Home?
When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house and maybe hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture. Staging is about decorating your house for the buyers' taste, not yours. A great place to start is with the front of the home and the main entryway. Home staging is designed to increase the potential selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market. Let Macy & McKee put their real estate knowledge to your best use.

Are You Setting Too High of a Sale Price?
As a seller its really important to do your research, and in order to come up with your sale price, look up what comparable homes in your neighborhood have sold for. Figure out what the going price is and try to put yours right in the middle of that, unless you have something extra special to offer. It is always better to price a home sharply than to start too high and have to reduce. Once you reduce, it always looks like something is wrong with the home. Macy & McKee uses all the tools at their disposal to find the right price for your home.

Real Estate Industry Trends:
What's HOT and What's NOT for Real Estate in 2008

Down payment? In exotic mortgages? Out. Destination bathrooms? In. Living rooms? Out.
... *surveyed 886 real estate agents in 50 states and eight Canadian provinces and offer these predictions for what's next.

HOT: Home buyers. What goes around comes around. Relegated during the boom years to bidding ware, over-full-price offer and new construction lotteries, buyers rule in 2008, and they know it. With swelling inventories, they are looking for newly updated kitchen and bath, pristine condition, and a perception of value. For the best in Summit NJ Homes contact the real estate team of Macy & McKee.

NOT: Unrealistic home sellers. These relics of another time and market missed the cocktail party char and water cooler angst by the transitional seller of 2007. Successful seller priced their home right, considered home-sale contingencies and offered closing cost givebacks. Hear no evil sellers were overlooked by buyers who pined for realistic ones. If seller were flexible, buyer bought.

HOT: Destination bathrooms. The master bath has evolved into the getaway with multiple task areas. Freestanding or "throne"� bathtubs in the center of a soaking room, multiple flat screen TV's and wireless Internet so you don't miss anything as you move from bathing to grooming to lounging. Outfitted with serving bars featuring wine cooler, espresso machine, and snacks. Up next: in-home hair salons.

NOT: Living rooms. The great room has replaced the living in American residential culture. Informal lifestyles with eating, cooking and living spaces combined so family members and visiting friend can congregate together through various activities has conquered the forced museum. Increasingly homeowners are turning living rooms into workout spaces, home offices or craft /hobby centers.

HOT: Short sales. Over extended homeowners are looking to their mortgage holder to accept less than is owned on their property. Some lenders will accept less than is owed through a short sale, in place of taking ownership of a home through foreclosure.

NOT: Order taking agents. Everyone and anyone got licensed and into the frenzy. Little did they know that seasoned, full time, professional agents possessed ready willing and able buyers and know how to sooth seller anxieties.

HOT: Dog showers. Remember hoisting Fido into the utility sink? Forget about it. The new trend is custom dog showers. Located in a mudroom, utility room, garage corner or basement, dog lovers want a place to clean the pooch after a visiting to the dog park. Dog showers are designed for Fido to step-in and eliminate the masters need to lift.

NOT: Empty listings. Staging was the buzzword but making home seem lived in was prickly in 2007, a year when many listings were empty. Those leftover silk flowers, the left behind mismatched furniture and the one off design show decorating scheme were buyer no no's. Neutral palettes, person objects, thoughtful furniture rental and something in the refrigerator say to buyers: "Maybe a person lives here."�

HOT: Home elevators. Baby boomers want vertical palaces with elegant mini elevators. No more unsightly and very 1970 chair on the rail system for these financially flush forward thinking homebuyers.

NOT: Obscene ceiling heights. It's cheaper to go up than out. That's been the thinking anyway as of late in residential design Buyer finally have had enough. They prefer ceiling between9-11 feet. Anything more is a waste practically if you can't loft it.

HOT: Outdoor living spaces that look like indoors. Massive soaring statement fireplaces of cut stone, heated flooring and walkway, entertaining sized custom kitchen and indoor looking artwork-fabrics and finishes but one that can stand up to the elements.
NOT: Balconies as a marketing gimmick Functional outdoors space not the anorexic appendage hanging off the building is what buyers carve in 2008. Real balconies have room for a grill and a comfortable table and chairs. People love the outdoors and want to use it- but not only as a solo experience.

HOT: Down payments. Sexy home mortgages are out. Those who under write home loans are looking for substance from potential hone buyer. Substance equates with disciplined savings and credit scores.

NOT: Option ARM's. Buyers have learned that these loans usually have only on option- foreclosure. Used by the rich for short term financing they were repackaged to buyers who wanted to qualify for the highest loan amount. Negative amortization is the harsh reality of Option Arm's.

HOT: Carbon footprints. Manufactured homes, reused energy sipping mechanical system and appliances reduce the need for fossil fuels. Homebuyers are asking about how their potential new home can save the planet. Solar panels and windmills also are hot as alternative energy sources.

NOT: McMansions. Size does matter if it's not well finished. Demand is waning for large home whose best attribute is the square footage. Homebuyers are looking for quality, not quantity.
HOT: Monitoring and controlling with hand held devices. Forgot to turn off the coffee maker, close or open the blinds and turn the heat down or the air conditioning up? The latest technology uses hand held devices to open or close the blinds, turn on or off lights or let Fido out the electronic per door.

NOT: Pioneering locations. Buyers have moved away from take a chance neighborhoods. Gentrifying or off the beaten path area were once the hotbed of potential appreciation. Now though buyer have returned to the tried and true address keeping resale desirability firmly in mind when making a purchase.

HOT: Floating homes. In areas with calm, protected waters expect to see floating home that look like conventional structures. From Louisiana to Vancouver, floating homes are at the top of must have list for those looking for a primary home to be lifestyle oriented. One advantage: No more lawns to mow.

NOT: Too trendy décor. Fashionistas embraced retro 1970's chic but buyers were reluctant to buy a house with espresso colored shag carpeting.

*Credit for these thoughts come from Mark Nash of Coldwell Banker ResidentialMark Nash, a broker associate and author of 1001 Tips For Buying Selling a Home, surveyed 886 real estate agents in 50 states and eight Canadian provinces and offer these predictions for what's next.

Although some of these trends my seem entertaining it's important to remember the housing market's ultimate approval comes from each buyer saying yes to style, features and value. How to determinue "value" i.e. price is what sets our team, Macy & McKee , apart from our industry counterparts. Our certified "Right Pricing" analysis goes far beyond the average realtor accessements. In the Summit NJ Real Estate marketplace competitive pricing with make a difference in whether a property in this market will sell at all. Our pricing system is proprietary for our client. Be apart of our suceess and let us guide your investment. "All About You. And Your Home". Look for our article about how "Right Pricing" looks at each home to determine an accurate value on a monthly basis in this changing market.

Commuting is easily one of the most cost effective options today, as the price of real estate in and around the city is only going to continue to skyrocket in the days and months to come. If you're one of the many commuters who use the Midtown Direct Service, purchasing Summit NJ real estate is a great idea.
Summit plays host to a station that is completely linked to the Midtown Direct Service. That means your commute time between Summit and midtown is only forty minutes, far less than many other New Jersey suburb towns.
Homes within a short distance of a Midtown Direct service area have more than doubled in value in the past few years. Because of the growing population and the increase in the number of workers needed for the city, you can expect to see your Summit NJ real estate only increase in value over the coming years, despite what the national real estate market may do.
Living near a Midtown Direct station may actually help you get a bigger mortgage. Lenders recognize that commuters can save money by using mass transit services instead of driving, and purchasing the right Summit NJ real estate could mean that you can spend a few thousand dollars more on your mortgage than you might otherwise be able to.
Purchasing Summit NJ real estate may make you eligible for your employer's commuter benefit programs. From subsidizing your commuting costs to allowing you to use pre-tax dollars to pay for your commuting costs, employers increasingly realize the benefits of benefit programs. Talk with your company about their benefits in this area.
Go green. Americans drive nearly three trillion miles a year, and that places a serious strain on our environment. Using the Midtown Direct Service instead of driving to work is certain to make Mother Earth your best friend this year.

Summit NJ is the perfect commuter town. Filled with amazing shops, restaurants, and some of the most attractive real estate in the country, buying a home in Summit is a great idea. If you're interested in learning more about commuting from your new Summit NJ real estate property, contact Macy & McKee today!

Wondering if a Summit NJ real estate purchase might be right for you? One of the most important things to consider in any real estate purchase is the style of the home, and two of the most prominent home styles you'll find on the Summit NJ real estate market are the Tudor and Victorian Styles.

What is A Tudor Home?
Tudor homes were designed to mimic the style of English architecture that was developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While stucco wall features as well as steep roofs and half-timbers were the cornerstones of Tudor architecture at the time, those elements are mostly designed for decorative effect in the Summit NJ Tudor real estate properties. As with the original Tudor architecture, the homes in the Summit NJ real estate market still tend to have tall windows with small panes as well as large chimneys and arch-type entryways. While you will see some stucco on the Summit NJ Tudor real estate market, you may also see brick exteriors. Tudor homes are so popular because of the warm, strong feel they offer buyers. The thick walls offer a sense of security many new homes just can't match.

What is a Victorian Home?
A stark contrast to Tudor homes, Victorian homes on the Summit NJ real estate market are typically designed to reflect Victorian architecture between 1837 and 1901. Unfortunately, Victorian homes aren't quite as easy to describe as Tudor homes are. "Victorian"� is a catch-all term for a number of styles including Italianate, Queen Anne, Folk, and Stick-Eastlake. Italianate Victorian homes tend to have a flat roof line structure. They almost always have wider eaves as well as a large variety of ornamental brackets. Queen Anne Victorian homes can be primarily characterized by towers and turrets as essential features of the design. By far the most complex Victorian style, Queen Anne style homes have the wrap around porches many buyers crave. Folk Victorian style is as simple as the name. Making use of mass-produced trim work, many post-Civil War buyers could afford Victorian homes like these. Stick-Eastlake Victorian homes tend to have the kind of half-timbers you might see with a Tudor home. They are often rectangular in shape and feature steep roofs and wood siding.
It's important to remember that if Tudor or Victorian architectural styles don't suit your needs, the Summit NJ real estate market is one of the most competitive in the country, so you're sure to find an architectural style that will meet your needs. Contact Macy & McKee for a complete listing of Summit NJ real estate properties today.