Centex Opens Family-Friendly Condominium Community in Bergen County, N.J.

Signature at Garfield

Garfield, N.J.–Signature Place at Garfield, a 184-unit condominium property in Garfield, N.J., has made its debut. Dallas-based developer Centex did its research and upon discovering a demand among area homebuyers for communities designed specifically with families in mind, the company decided to create a new option.

Signature Place features two- and three-bedroom residences offering 1,052 to 2,020 square feet with price tags as low as $299,000. A clubhouse is accessible to all residents and each unit features a one-car garage. Located off I-80 approximately 12 miles northwest of New York City in Bergen County, the property sits within close proximity of two train stations and is just over three miles away from Teterboro Airport. “Bergen County is an excellent place to raise a family, and this location will allow residents to enjoy the best of what the region has to offer,” Paul Schneier, president of PulteGroup Inc.’s Metro NY/NJ Division, notes in a prepared statement. PulteGroup is the parent company of Centex. “Families that choose Signature Place will live just minutes from top-of-the-line schools and universities, amazing country clubs and parks, and two of New Jersey’s best hospitals.”

The national condominium market is still struggling to recover from the housing collapse and the economic crisis, but not all areas are suffering equally. “Sales in the New York Metropolitan area, which includes Bergen county, have been increasing on a month-to-month basis through June,” Quinn W. Eddins, director of research for Radar Logic, tells MHN. Radar Logic, a residential real estate data and analytics firm, follows 25 metropolitan statistical areas across the country. “From May 24 to June 24, the number of transactions increased 26 percent, and that’s surprising because most of the metro areas we track saw sales activity decrease.”

Some of the factors that buoyed the New York MSA should have had a similar impact on other MSAs. June is traditionally the peak of the seasonal sales cycle; some stimulus effect remained from the homeowner tax credit; and record low mortgage rates continued. “These three stimulating factors apply to all the metro areas we track,” Eddins notes, “so what makes the New York MSA exceptional?” He offers an explanation. “What would influence sales in Bergen County would be the relative strength of the New York City economy, so that people are more inclined to buy homes here than in other regions.”

Prices have also increased in the Greater New York City area. “Sales have gone up so it was no surprise that we saw an increase in prices in June,” he adds. “Compared to all the metro areas we track, New York has a small rate of motivated sales, sales of homes owned by banks, and they sell at a discount. The fact that there is a smaller portion of sales in foreclosure is probably helping the New York MSA.”