Hi Will: Your question is asking if the seller would sell with only a small margin of profit and under assessed value. To answer this , I would start that saying yes to both. I am a realtor serving the Brigantine market at Prudential Fox & Roach on the Island. The market in Brigantine is steady and many buyers are looking, especially now in January of 08. Many deals can be found as the assesed price is of little or no concern. As with the asking prices, they are very realistic right now and some are on the increase as supply is not at it's fullest. Only some homeowners are in a position to sell. Those with equity and those that have too. Other are overpriced to test the market. Demand is increasing in the seven miles of beautiful beach Brigantine has to offer. I would be happy to assist you with stats or home prices VS sold prices. There is much to say here with Atlantic City gaining three new casinos in the very near future.

Thanks Deborah, great response. Was just about to post a Q regarding recent assessment as it relates to recent values . . . I think I will go ahead and do so anyway for educational purposes.

BTW http://www.taxrecords.com to see what the area sold for in the past. Just put in the street, someone bought in 2001.

Will;
This market hasn't even come close to the bottom. We are going to drop a lot further, IMHO back to 2001 prices, especially there. That being said, Mathew is giving you great advise. In fact it is refreshing to hear. I would give him a call.

I just looked at what is active and recently sold and there are only a few 3 bedroom condos under $300,000 and one under contract at $269,000 list price.

In general homes are selling at 2004/2005 prices. So the condo may not even be worth what they paid in 2005. If I represented you I would do more research and plan a negotiation strategy for you but I don't think coming in at $260,000 would be insulting. In fact you may want to come in at $250,000 or below. I would talk to an attorney about the issues if the other condo owner doesn't pay. I would think you could be assessed a higher fee to make up for the lack of payments. Is the other owner currently paying their condo fees?

The property I am interested in is a 3 br townhouse style condo asking in the low $300K. It's been on the market for about 8 to 10 months and is pretty much move in ready. They purchased it for about $250 back in early 2005. Is $260K a good offer or is that insulting? Also, I'm a bit weary because its a two unit condo with no management and what happens if the other unit doesn't pay its share of flood or condo insurance?! Is this a legitimate concern?

My team and I serve Atlantic County, NJ and Brigantine. In this market the assessed value doesn't matter and in fact what has sold recently doesn't matter. The main thing that we look at in negotiation for our buyer clients is the competition. We look at what else is currently available and make our offers based on the competition. If you look at what has sold recently that reflects prices of 30-90 days ago when the homes were under contract. To best serve you I would need to know what property you are interested in. But in general prices have not reached the bottom yet. We believe they will continue to drop in our market over the winter. In Brigantine it will take even longer to recover. And the higher priced the home the longer it will take for prices to increase again. Please contact me if you have any additional questions. Thank you. Matt

I like Diane's point about the value of the property. It depends on the value, and hence their percentage profit. The seller's personal circumstance also plays a factor in what they are willing to sell for (ie. cash flow). Many people are hurting on cash flow these days...I look at people's finances all day as a mortgage banker myself. If you catch them in January/February in the dead of winter, after the house has been on the market for 6 months, that may be your best chance to work a deal. If you are looking for a realtor down there, contact Marie LaPera from Prudential. She's wonderful and the highest producer down there. She knows Brigantine like the back of her hand. You can visit http://www.NewJerseyRates.com, and go to the Featured Realtor section...and click on Atlantic County. Her info is posted there.

If the town has been reassessed in the recent year or two, the relationship between assessed value and market value has more continuity from one property to another. It still is not an absolute measure of value. If most properties are selling near assessed value, AND the last assessment is recent, use that as a gage.

Although I am a Realtor in NJ, I do not work your market. I have not recently noticed any RE Pros from your area posting on Trulia, but perhaps one will chime in.

Prices tend to come down a bit in the Fall and Winter, but usually not that much. It really depends on the circumstances of the individual seller as to whether they will reduce to get sold.
Contact a local agent with the information you give here. Ask, What is the normal Days of Market for a house that is similar? Are houses selling at assessed value?
Here's the thing about NJ's real estate market: Since 2001, prices (these are averages) increased 187%, but have declined 18% since 2005. That basically brings us back to 2004 prices. Depending on the sales price now, 50,000 over 2004 sales price may not be too bad. (Did the house sell for over $1M?, then it's fair, if it's priced in the 300,000 range, though, it's overpriced.)
We cannot predict what a seller will thinks. If his/her agent is knowledgable about the market and he is willing to accept the information given, and he needs to sell (is motivated) then, yes. It is reasonable. Pricing depends less on what the sellers want than what the buyers are willing to pay.

In this market you may do well, most sellers would want to have the commission paid for, I sell in coastal NC where are market is starting to get better. I would try and see the response