So Many Available Houses in Maplewood (Irvington: real estate, apartment, crime rates)
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A friend of mine just bought a house in Maplewood. I went onto a real estate website to see houses on the market. And found so many that seemed to be in great condition.
Curious as to why there are so many on the market that are in real nice condition.
Many people trying to leave? I know taxes are high, but taxes are high everywhere but those towns don't have that many houses on the market in great condition.
It's mostly because Maplewood is really the tale of 3 towns. You have the best part of town, on the west side of the train station, the "good" part of town directly to the east of the train station, and the ghetto part of town closer to Irvington.
I think one reason for the large inventory is that people in the "good" part of town are trying to get the same prices as people in the "best" part of town are getting and NO ONE wants to live in the bad part of town. There is also a big question as to where the"good" part of town stops and the "bad" part of town starts. All that and the taxes there are ridiculous...even for NJ. They are supposed to be reassessing everything in the next year or so. Make sense?
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 02-15-2011 at 12:45 PM..
It's mostly because Maplewood is really the tale of 3 towns. You have the best part of town, on the west side of the train station, the "good" part of town directly to the east of the train station, and the ghetto part of town closer to Irvington.
I think one reason for the large inventory is that people in the "good" part of town are trying to get the same prices as people in the "best" part of town are getting and NO ONE wants to live in the bad part of town. There is also a big question as to where the"good" part of town stops and the "bad" part of town starts. All that and the taxes there are ridiculous...even for NJ. They are supposed to be reassessing everything in the next year or so. Make sense?
i drove through irvington and then maplewood on saturday. i can understand the "bad", "good", and "best" parts completely. add to that the fact that you can't park at the train station, and the surrounding towns seem to have more draw than maplewood....so how do you get buyers into those homes at the prices they are listed at? prices need to drop (as do taxes)!
First of all, enough with the 3 maplewoods. The "bad" part of town is still an infinitely better place to live than Irvington. Crime rates are lower and of course the school system is better, and this is reflective in home-values. Just because it is blacker and less wealthy doesn't mean it is a dangerous place to live.
Now, on to the home inventory. The large home inventory right now is attributable to the fact that many of the early Maplewood pioneers in the mid-90s are getting ready to downsize or move somewhere more affordable since their kids are off to college. Keep in mind many Maplewoodians are former Brooklynites who perhaps want to move back now that they only need an apartment again. When the economy picks up and you have another upswing of economically mobile young couples with kids, Maplewood will become a real estate hotspot again.
i personally wouldn't want to live that close to irvington. i don't care what type of people live on the border of irvington. their skin color is of no importance to me. but irvington is bad, is it not? if one agrees with that, why would someone want to live 2-3 blocks from irvington?
i admittedly know little about maplewood. i'm just going on the basis that irvington is terrible, and i drove through the other day. i personally wouldn't want to live there. but you're right, it doesn't mean it's dangerous...but if the perception is that it is dangerous, does it matter what reality is?
First of all, enough with the 3 maplewoods. The "bad" part of town is still an infinitely better place to live than Irvington. Crime rates are lower and of course the school system is better, and this is reflective in home-values. Just because it is blacker and less wealthy doesn't mean it is a dangerous place to live.
Now, on to the home inventory. The large home inventory right now is attributable to the fact that many of the early Maplewood pioneers in the mid-90s are getting ready to downsize or move somewhere more affordable since their kids are off to college. Keep in mind many Maplewoodians are former Brooklynites who perhaps want to move back now that they only need an apartment again. When the economy picks up and you have another upswing of economically mobile young couples with kids, Maplewood will become a real estate hotspot again.
I don't recall equating living in any part of Maplewood to living in Irvington, however there is no question that there are 3 sections of the town. There are the 2 that EVERYONE recognizes. Maplegood(the part by the train station) and Maplehood(the part by irvington). Locals will say it is really broken down even further with the west of the rr tracks(toward short hills) segregated as the best of the "good" area.
Your other insights about Brooklyn and downsizing/ moving back to the city are great and could help to explain things, although it is not the only driving factor for inventory.
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