By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, 609-463-6713
Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
SEA ISLE CITY - City Council gave its approval Tuesday to the operators of Gillian's Wonderland Pier to run an amusement park on city land.
The approval allows the Ocean City-based amusement park operators to lease vacant city-owned land along John F. Kennedy Boulevard for the next 10 years. The company offered Sea Isle City 10 percent of the annual gross revenues of the park, including rides and concessions, as payment for the lease.
Gillian's Funland of Sea Isle City will include 10 or 11 kiddie rides.
It will be the first amusement park in Sea Isle City in almost 10 years, after the closing of Fun City, a 30-year staple of the resort that was sold to developers.
Opening an amusement park in the midst of a recession does not daunt Jay Gillian, whose grandfather started Gillian's Fun Deck in Ocean City about 1930, in the midst of the Great Depression.
"My grandfather has always told me, everyone always has money to put someone on a Merry Go Round," Gillian said. "It's the truth. We seem to always take care of our children."
Gillian said he had his eye on Sea Isle City for an amusement park for years.
But the price of real estate precluded it.
Gillian seized the opportunity when the city offered the lease on the land. The city is planning to build a Boardwalk-type walkway at the nearby marina later this year.
"If we had to buy the property, it would never be worth it. It would just cost millions of dollars for the land," he said.
Gillian said he expects to open the park by Memorial Day and is planning hours from 1 to about 9 p.m.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio has high hopes for the amusement park and its potential to keep visiting families in the city.
"I can remember getting hundreds and hundreds of letters saying, 'Fun City is closed, we need an amusement park,'" Desiderio said. "I can recall trying a couple of times to bring amusement parks to a couple different locations."
The specific rides for the amusement park have not yet been determined, but officials said they will be geared toward the very young.
"I really wanted to keep it to little kids, not to teenagers," Gillian said.
Under the agreement, the city can pre-approve any ride.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Wind mills off the coast of Sea Isle
New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities signed approved a proposal to build windmills off the coast of Avalon/Sea Isle as early as 2010. The site will be located 20 miles off the coast in 110 feet of water. According to the predictions, "could supply the annual needs of about 125,000 homes" once it's completed in 2012.
I like the idea of renewable energy. I think it's the future. Hopefully it works without any environmental impact.
To read the article published in the Press of Atlantic City, click here:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/275718.html
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Selling your beach house in today's market.
Q: Can you sell your Sea Isle house in today’s market? If so, what is the secret?
A: That’s a great question. From January 1st through today, 139 units have sold in Sea Isle City. So what is the secret to selling your house? The secret is this, if it’s not new, make it like new.
We have sold a lot of homes over the past year and the one thing that they almost all have in common is that they are either new constructions or in “like new” condition.
One example is a condo that we had for sale on 45th and Landis. This unit was on the market for about 7 months with some activity, but no true interest. The sellers then took our advise and invested some money into the kitchen and furniture. Once it was completed, the unit went under contract in 3 months and sold for 98% of the asking price!
Another example comes with a buyer that we had been working with for well over a year. The husband and wife said that price was the most important factor in their buying decision, even if they have to do some work to the unit. We spent countless days touring houses in their price range – all needed some work and just didn’t do it for them. Then a 10 year old townhouse came on the market. The seller of that townhouse made two very wise decisions. First, he priced it right. Second, he repainted, re-carpeted and refurnished the house (even the tags were left on the sofas). This unit was out of the buyers target price range, but in the end, they bought it at 93% of the asking price and settled 55 days after it was put on the market. They referred to it as the 10 year old new house.
A third example was a 3 year old townhouse that sold in the Spring. The house and furniture were both in excellent condition. However the sellers still did some touch up painting and had the carpets professionally cleaned. It sold in 56 days for 94% of the asking price.
In this market, price point is very important, however isn’t enough to sell a house. The winning strategy is a combination of price point and reinvesting in the sale property. Successful sellers have a firm understanding of their market value and what it takes to create a “turn key” unit.
Please do not hesitate to call if you would like to schedule an appointment with a Laricks Real Estate agent to meet you at your property to discuss a plan for selling your house.
A: That’s a great question. From January 1st through today, 139 units have sold in Sea Isle City. So what is the secret to selling your house? The secret is this, if it’s not new, make it like new.
We have sold a lot of homes over the past year and the one thing that they almost all have in common is that they are either new constructions or in “like new” condition.
One example is a condo that we had for sale on 45th and Landis. This unit was on the market for about 7 months with some activity, but no true interest. The sellers then took our advise and invested some money into the kitchen and furniture. Once it was completed, the unit went under contract in 3 months and sold for 98% of the asking price!
Another example comes with a buyer that we had been working with for well over a year. The husband and wife said that price was the most important factor in their buying decision, even if they have to do some work to the unit. We spent countless days touring houses in their price range – all needed some work and just didn’t do it for them. Then a 10 year old townhouse came on the market. The seller of that townhouse made two very wise decisions. First, he priced it right. Second, he repainted, re-carpeted and refurnished the house (even the tags were left on the sofas). This unit was out of the buyers target price range, but in the end, they bought it at 93% of the asking price and settled 55 days after it was put on the market. They referred to it as the 10 year old new house.
A third example was a 3 year old townhouse that sold in the Spring. The house and furniture were both in excellent condition. However the sellers still did some touch up painting and had the carpets professionally cleaned. It sold in 56 days for 94% of the asking price.
In this market, price point is very important, however isn’t enough to sell a house. The winning strategy is a combination of price point and reinvesting in the sale property. Successful sellers have a firm understanding of their market value and what it takes to create a “turn key” unit.
Please do not hesitate to call if you would like to schedule an appointment with a Laricks Real Estate agent to meet you at your property to discuss a plan for selling your house.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Sea Isle Sale Statistics
Sold in Sea Isle from 9/1/07 – 6/1/08
Price--------------# sold-------# currently for sale
< $299k----------------8-------------8
$300-$399k----------14-----------22
$400-$499k----------19-----------24
$500-$599k----------25-----------15
$600-$699k----------42-----------33
$700-$799k----------46-----------49
$800-$899k----------22-----------32
$900-$999k----------10-----------24
$1 million+------------15-----------59
Total---------------=----201---------266
This information was taken from the CMC MLS
Price--------------# sold-------# currently for sale
< $299k----------------8-------------8
$300-$399k----------14-----------22
$400-$499k----------19-----------24
$500-$599k----------25-----------15
$600-$699k----------42-----------33
$700-$799k----------46-----------49
$800-$899k----------22-----------32
$900-$999k----------10-----------24
$1 million+------------15-----------59
Total---------------=----201---------266
This information was taken from the CMC MLS
Friday, May 16, 2008
May Storm
This video was taked during the height of the storm. Wind gusts were recorded at 76 MPH.
This video was taken the next morning.
This video was taken the next morning.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday, December 15, 2007
2007 Market summary
Sub-prime loans, housing bubble, mortgage crisis?!? I can’t turn on the TV or read the newspaper without seeing all of the media hype. So, what’s the deal? Is it really that bad? Well, in some areas of the US, yes it may be. However Sea Isle City is not the same as the overall US Real Estate Economy. In fact, it’s not even the same as our neighboring shore communities. So forget the media hype, let’s look at how Sea Isle has performed over the past 3 years in the changing market and how our values stand today.
Total # of units sold -- 2005 -- 2006 -- 2007 --- Total Square Miles
Sea Isle City ---------258 --- 162 ---- 230 ---- 2.2 sq. miles
Ocean City ------------- 1230 -- 668 ---- 672 ---- 6.92 sq. miles
Avalon ------------------ 292 --- 158 ----- 169 ----- 5.59 sq. miles
Total # of units sold -- 2005 -- 2006 -- 2007 --- Total Square Miles
Sea Isle City ---------258 --- 162 ---- 230 ---- 2.2 sq. miles
Ocean City ------------- 1230 -- 668 ---- 672 ---- 6.92 sq. miles
Avalon ------------------ 292 --- 158 ----- 169 ----- 5.59 sq. miles
#of units sold per square mile:
*Based on CMC MLS and SJRSMLS statistics
The total number of units sold indicates a great recovery since the height of the market in 2005 and a little more overall consistency in Sea Isle. In fact, there were only 28 more units sold in 2005 then 2007. What does that mean as an owner? Most importantly, it means that your property is still liquid in Sea Isle. If you want to sell your property, you can.
Let’s look at condo values over the past three years:
Average Condo Sale Price --- 2005 -------- 2006 --------- 2007
Sea Isle City -------------- $804,380 -- $692,138 -- $743,595
Ocean City ---------------- $767,611 -- $571,865 -- $556,700
*Based on CMC MLS and SJRSMLS statistics
The average condo sale price also indicates a recovery and overall consistency. In 2006 the average condo sale price dropped 14% from 2005. Why? Because of the media hype. In 2006, all of my buyers were looking for foreclosures and distress sales. As a result, fewer properties sold forcing owners to adjust their prices and negotiate more.
2007 was a great recovery year in Sea Isle. By the end of this year, the average condo sale price will only be down 7.5% from the peak in 2005. Why? Because the distress sales and foreclosures didn’t happen. The families who bought property in Sea Isle over the past 5-10 years were not sub-prime, risky borrowers. They were strong borrowers with good credit, good income and an understanding of what they could afford. At the same time, the demand remained high. Who wouldn’t want a vacation house in Sea Isle City? After all, Sea Isle is where the best family memories are made in the world! The results were more houses began to sell, inventory began to fall and the average condo sale price began to recover.
Compare the average condo sale price in Sea Isle vs. Ocean City. In 2006 the average condo sale price in OC dropped 25.5%, then another 2% in 2007. That’s 27.5% lower today then the peak of the market. Why? Not because there were risky borrowers in Ocean City, but because of the quality of the product. Simply put, side-by-side townhouses in Sea Isle are far superior to the top and bottom style duplexes common in Ocean City. In addition, Ocean City is much larger than Sea Isle but has smaller building lots than Sea Isle. This results in a much higher inventory. Sea Isle’s small size not only keeps the inventory low, but also allows for every property on the island to be within walking distance to the beach. There’s not a bad location on the island! All of these factors create a higher demand in Sea Isle and result in a greater recovery and overall consistency.
*It should be noted that these statistics are based on condo/townhouses because that is the majority of Sea Isle’s inventory.
Another stabilizing factor in Sea Isle’s market is the rental demand. Compared to many other islands, Sea Isle has the highest demand for family rentals per unit. This has played a big role in supporting our property values because owners and developers can depend on rental income to offset some of the costs.
What does the future hold? As I often say, no one has a crystal ball. However, the combination of these factors should result in stable property values. I don’t think that we will see the extreme appreciation rates that we did from 2000-2005 in the near future, but Sea Isle Real Estate should go back to being a conservative investment.
Market stability, high-quality townhouses, a great family atmosphere and a short walk to the beach makes Sea Isle the best investment at the shore.
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