My So-Called New Home?

We aren't currently looking to buy a house and are by no means pressed for time to find one either. But when the opportunity presents itself and a house in our neighborhood and price point comes on the market, we've been known to stop by. Our target/dream area is Bridgewater, but if you know anything about Bridgewater you'll know it's one of the most expensive areas in central Jersey. Here's some stats from Trulia for reference:

Bridgewater Real Estate Overview

Market View for Bridgewater

Info

Avg. Listing Price$475,107Wk ending Feb 16

-$1,381
-0.3%
w-o-w

Median Sales Price$356,750Oct '10 - Dec '10

-$3,750
-1.0%
y-o-y

193	Homes For Sale	1	Open Homes
204	Recently Sold	101	Foreclosures

Market Trends for Bridgewater

Embed Info

Average Listing Price

$475,107

-0.3%

w-o-w

Median Sales Price

$356,750

-1%

y-o-y

Average Price/sqft

$188

-10%

y-o-y

Number of Sales

8

-94.4%

y-o-y

More Bridgewater Market Trends

Home Prices for Somerset County

Info

Most popular
zip codes

Avg. listing price
Week ending Feb 16

w-o-w

08873

$327,813

+0.2%

07920

$696,054

-0.1%

08807

$475,107

-0.3%

08844

$490,020

+1.2%

07059

$1,018,133

+0.2%

Movers & Shakers

Avg. listing price
Week ending Feb 16

w-o-w

07060

$357,526

-17.3%

08510

$734,086

+5.8%

07924

$1,881,538

+5.2%

07938

$123,500

-4.2%

08812

$388,672

+3.6%

Yeah, so as you can see you gotta be making beaucoup bucks to get in to the "average" size two-story home with a nice backyard and a two-car garage. For now, however, we don't need that long-term forever home. We're young. We have no kids. And we can't exactly afford our forever home at this point in our lives either. But again, there's no reason we need to be living in that Barbie dream house when we have our whole future ahead of us to decide where exactly we want to put down roots for the long-haul. 

So for now, I have been looking out for those nice starter homes in good neighborhoods. And to live in our target neighborhood of Bridgewater, I am sure it will be something that needs a good amount of elbow grease and a whole lotta lovin. And I'm okay with that. I am ready to put on my big-girl pants and get started on some serious DIY if need be. I mean, if by some divine intervention we find something we can afford that simply needs some paint and some caulk, I'm not gonna turn it down! Realistically though, what we find will most likely be small and need some imagination. And after a few years of TLC and maybe one or two kids later, we will hopefully sell and make a little profit to invest in a more long-term house. 

Here's what we are looking for in a house, sorta the non-negotiables:

• Location, location, location
• At least 2 bedrooms, ideally 3
• A garage for Dan, preferably detached
• Basement or attic for storage/more living space
• No underground oil
• Close to a major highway
• Needs a realistic (to our abilities) amount of work

And here's a few things that would be dreamy (and definitely long-term):

• 4 Bedroom, 2.5 Bathroom
• Private lot
• Good school district (ie: Bridgewater)
• En-suite bathroom
• Walk-in closet
• Finished basement
• Upstairs laundry
• Two-story
• Two-car detached garage 
• Two-car attached garage
• Daily cleaning and cooking staff...wait this is a dream, right?

If you want an idea of my type of dream home, bop on over here. So yeah, to sum it up thats the plan Stan. Anyone else think as deeply about their 5-year goals as I do?


And with that being said, we have an appointment tomorrow morning to check out a fixer-upper in Bridgewater. This should be interesting...


Update: The fixer-upper needed a little more fixing than we could realistically handle. Its location within Bridgewater was great but its location on the street was unfortunately very close to the street and a street light. No worries, the right one will come along at the right time!