Page 4 • Wednesday , January 18 , 2017 • The Hammonton Gazette
Realtors discuss town ’ s residential , commercial markets
REAL ESTATE , from Page 1 years , which has led to thousands of job
losses within the county and has had a profound effect on the economies and real estate markets of surrounding communities . How will Hammonton fare during such an uncertain and often-unpredictable socioeconomic climate ? Many of the town ’ s real estate agents who have decades of experience in the business and in observing the nature of the community said there are reasons for optimism heading into 2017 .
Real estate agent Michael Pullia , of M . L . Ruberton insurance and Real estate agency , has been working in the business for more than 30 years . He said there ’ s no denying the alarming amount of foreclosures in atlantic County , but fortunately , investors have continued to buy and renovate bank-owned homes , which has replenished many of the local markets .
“ the foreclosures are here ; there are a lot of them … thankfully , investors have been buying up the dilapidated foreclosures and bank-owned properties and are 100 percent rehabbing them into great homes . that ’ s helping our market , keeping our market going ,” Pullia said .
Pullia said the fall of 2016 has been very encouraging for the future of the local markets and is expecting the best numbers in nearly a decade .
“ We ’ ve seen a very busy fall — higher than usual — and i think that ’ s going to go right into the spring . i think 2017 is going to be the best in , probably , at least the last eight or nine years . i don ’ t know that we ever get back to the numbers that we were at in 2002 and 2003 , but we probably shouldn ’ t have been at those numbers ,” Pullia said .
Joe Wiessner , real estate broker and owner of Joe Wiessner Realty , can attest to Pullia ’ s optimism . Wiessner just concluded what he referred to as the “ most profitable year ” of his 17 years in business , despite the widely-reported struggles in the housing market from a national standpoint .
“ We ’ ve done very , very well , and it ’ s not to say that market hasn ’ t had its difficulties — it has — but generally speaking , we ’ ve done very well in a difficult climate ,” Wiessner said .
Many agencies were not as fortunate as Joe Wiessner Realty and could not make it through the attrition that occurred in the aftermath of the recent downturn , but Wiessner , much like many other Hammonton real estate agents , persevered through the tough times .
Larry Peterson has been a real estate agent with Century 21 since 1989 and blames the housing market crash on too many people receiving mortgages in the past when they weren ’ t qualified to sufficiently pay them .
“ the banks really ruined the real estate market by giving these people mortgages that really didn ’ t qualify and couldn ’ t make the payments ,” Peterson said . although there are fewer homes on the market in Hammonton than this time last year , Peterson believes it ’ s a good time to be selling because the percentage of market homes sold is up about five percent from last year . Peterson also believes it ’ s a good time to buy a home in Hammonton because interest rates on mortgages are currently at about three percent and are only projected to increase as 2017 progresses .
“ Right now , if there are buyers on the fence as to whether they should buy or not , it would be beneficial for them to make the decision to move now because interest rates are just going to continue to go up ,” Peterson said .
Due to interest rates projected to reach up to five percent by the end of the year , Peterson does have slight concerns that the increased number of houses on the market may not find buyers but remains confident in the desirability of the Hammonton community offsetting those challenges .
“ i ’ m not really concerned because Hammonton is a very desirable town . People love moving to Hammonton , and most of my buyers that i work with , when they give me several towns to search for properties for them , Hammonton is always the first one that they ask about . So , no , i ’ m excited about Hammonton ’ s growth ,” Peterson said .
Re / Max Community Real estate Owner Ricky Mauriello has spent 12 years selling homes in southern New Jersey and commended the “ strong , steady market ” in Hammonton . Many of the people Mauriello deals with are long-term Hammonton residents that he knows , which makes the experience more enjoyable for both parties .
“ i really enjoy buying and selling properties in Hammonton . We have good experiences . the deals are a little bit easier to close in a town where people want to live , where they like living — good environments , good schools . i love selling real estate all over South Jersey , but especially in [ Hammonton ] because a lot of times , you know the people and there ’ s nothing better than helping somebody move into a town , into a house and a community or neighborhood , which they ’ re going to live for a long time ,”
Mauriello said .
While the residential market has stabilized and improved over the past few years , many local real estate agents said the commercial market in Hammonton has lagged behind due to the instability of the business climate during that timeframe . While there are some standout commercial real estate properties in Hammonton ( most notably St . Martin de Porres Church recently being sold to Kevin Rodio of Spellcaster Productions ), Crowley and Carr Real estate Broker-associate Philip Carr said the residential market in Hammonton is far superior to that of the commercial .
“ Residential still has the stronghold ... Commercial sales aren ’ t too plentiful in town here as opposed to if it was maybe an area in Cherry Hill , Haddonfield or somewhere to that extent , where commercial is more plentiful . Commercial is too far between here ,” Carr said .
Carr , who has been in the real estate business for seven years , doesn ’ t believe Hammonton ’ s proximity to atlantic City is related to the lack of progress with the commercial real estate market . in fact , Carr believes Hammonton is isolated from the effects of the casino fallout of years ’ past .
“ fortunately , in Hammonton , i ’ d say we ’ re insulated from that . We ’ re far away enough to where that doesn ’ t really affect us as opposed to areas that are directly surrounding it : Galloway , egg Harbor twp ., atlantic City itself , absecon . Places like that are suffering high rates of foreclosure and short sales on distressed properties ,” Carr said .
New to the local real estate scene is Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real estate agent and Sales associate Gabrielle Raso , who has been practicing for about two years . although she hasn ’ t been in the business long enough to observe the patterns of the town ’ s market that other real estate agents have noticed over the years , Raso sees the same pull Hammonton has on its residents , which has allowed the town to better cope with recent market struggles .
“ it has been great , and especially in Hammonton . there are so many people that grow up in the town that don ’ t really move out of the town , so a lot of them are familiar with the area and are not really looking to leave . and then , there are always people that are looking to move into the town , especially with what they ’ re doing with downtown Hammonton now on Main Street ,” Raso said . the housing market is not in the same condition it was in the early part of the 21st century — and it might never get there again , experts said — but most of the professionals within the real estate market believe Hammonton has the schools , business district and overall community type required to keep the market moving consistently for years to come , no matter where interest rates on mortgages go or how many more casinos close to the east .
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