Feb. 9, 2008 - As reported by the Atlantic City Press, Sunday January 27, 2008

Realtors say with bubble burst, housing market’s stable and ready to grow

Industry leaders say the region’s real estate market is at least stabilized, and probably prepared for signficant growth if not this year then surely the next. They credit continued development in Atlantic City and the undiminished demand for property at the shore. The nation seems recession bound and the stock market is withering, but real estate leaders are pretty chipper about the industry’s prospects for this year and beyond.

“The Atlantic City area and our entire market down here are extremely promising as we head into the next wave of megaresorts,” said Drew Fishman, president of the N.J. Association of Realtors and broker/sales associate with ReMax Atlantic in Northfield.

Real estate professionals insisted throughout 2007 that the home resale market in southern New Jersey, while clearly fallen from the incredible heights experienced during the realty bubble that burst in 2006, had merely declined to pretty good. They were unanimous in suggesting that the media were conveying a bleakness that didn’t exist on residential streets.

Now, with economic forecasts still pointing down, Realtors are saying the worst is over.

“I think we’re going to see sideways movement this year, with a decent spring season,” said Ian Lazarus, president of the Cape May County Association of Realtors. “The buyers are definitely out and we’re starting to make some sales.”

Fishman said this region, the state as a whole and even the Northeast “remained healthy over the last couple of years. It was not 2005, but it still was pretty good.”

Now, he said, mortgage interest rates are low — 5.7 percent with no points — and there’s good inventory available of all types of homes. “This is the time when you’re going to be able to do stuff,” Fishman said. “Real estate is cyclical, and everything looks promising.”