Imagine for a moment that you are traveling on business far from home. You wake up in the morning to USA Today slipped under your door with the headline: "HOME PRICES PLUNGE FURTHER. Declines likely to go on as sales fall." Now you understand why hotel windows are sealed - to keep travel ling homeowners from jumping out them.

Yesterday's (November 29) headlines were just one more example of media distortion. I won't even go into the fallacy of the national real estate market. Here's what the story in USAT said: "The median price for an existing home plunged by a record 5.1% in October, shrinking values back to March 2005 levels...." Does they mean to say that in one month alone values fell 5.1%?

The headline of the NAR press release was: "Mixed Results for October Existing-Home Sales; Mortgages Improving." Here's just a snippet of what the NAR press release said: "The national media existing-home price for all housing types was $207,800 in October, down 5.1 percent from October 2006 when the median was $218,900...." Hmmm. Very different for prices to drop 5.1% in one year compared to 5.1% in one month, no?

Come on, folks in the media. Stop the distortions.

It was recently announced that the Middlesex County (NJ) Multiple Listing Service had signed an agreement with Homescape, a listings aggregator created by Classified Ventures (a company created by a consortium of newspapers hoping to hedge their bets). Listings will be published with addresses, and someone said "providing addresses is definitely one big step toward giving consumers the information they want." (Courier News, November 28).

Now, I'm sure everyone at Middlesex MLS is thrilled by the prospect of no secrets from the public. However, historically that MLS has been one of the more secretive ones in New Jersey. No expiration dates for listings are permitted by MLS rules (you don't want someone "jumping" your listing, do you?). And, by custom, listing agencies make all appointments for showings, lest the homeowners' telephone number be given to the (presumed unsavory?) buyer agents (actually, this was the case even under subagency many years ago). And apparently the MLS forms for owners to sign will be revised - for the first time in a quarter-century, unless I'm mistaken. So what's my point?

I just think it's amusing that in spite of somewhat dated practices and attitudes, Middlesex MLS expects to be in the vanguard of electronic listing data giveaway. I wonder - will their listings in Realtor.com also have addresses displayed?

Every few months someone asks me about the "New Jersey Exit Tax." Now, NJ has many, often exorbitant taxes, but for most people, there is no "exit tax." Homeowners who live in NJ and are selling their primary residence to move out of state are not obligated to pay a special fee to do so. 

There are cases where an out-of-state NJ property owner may have money escrowed at closing to cover any state taxes they might have incurred when they sell their NJ investment property. They need to talk with their tax adviser.

March 25, 2008 Update - Since I first published this report, it has become apparent that the State of New Jersey is becoming a bit aggressive on this issue, to the point that people who close on the sale of their home in NJ and no longer have a NJ address may be liable for the withholding noted above.  However, attorneys in NJ are saying that if the gain in value of the property is within the Federal limits of $250,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, they would not be obligated to withhold funds for payment.  No Federal gain, no New Jersey gain, they tell me.

But, be sure to check with your tax adviser on this point.