Guide Me Home to North Jersey

The picturesque village of Oldwick remains the historic center of Tewksbury. Located conveniently close to Interstate 78, it retains its charm and authenticity, with stately Colonial and pretty Victorian houses that are the pride and joy of their owners.

Established by English landowners in the early 1700’s, followed by settlers of German descent, the village became known as New Germantown. The Zion Lutheran church, a beautiful 1749 Greek Revival building at the crossroads of the village, became well known for its illustrious pastor for 30 years, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran church in America. It is considered to be one of the oldest Lutheran churches in New Jersey. In the 20th century, the village was renamed Oldwick, due to anti-German sentiments during World War I.

Enjoy lunch at the Tewksbury Inn or the Oldwick General Store, just across the road, before indulging your inner child and/or your children and grandchildren at the Bunny Hole, Oldwick’s very special Easter tradition. Every Easter since 1949, the Magic Shop, on the main street in Oldwick, has been transformed into the Bunny Hole, a delightful and fanciful adventure for children to explore the bunnies’ den, which features vignettes loosely based on Beatrix Potter’s tales of Peter Rabbit. Usually installed four to five weeks before Easter, the Bunny Hole is open for one week to ten days afterwards. It has delighted local and not so local children of all ages for generations. This year is no exception and the magical scenes encompass children’s stories, featuring Alice in Wonderland (the central theme), Where the Wild Things Are, Hansel and Gretel and Winnie the Pooh, as well as Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden. All are artfully designed by loyal and talented volunteers. Come and be enchanted!

The Magic Shop is a whimsical gift shop located in an 18th century house in the center of this historic village. Featuring unique, hand-crafted, original gifts for the home, fine art, antiques, children’s clothing and toys, each room offers unique and beautiful merchandise for the discriminating shopper.

Posted by: Valerie Fraser

On the northern edge of Hunterdon county, lies the Township of Tewksbury, comprised of several villages surrounded by a rural landscape of farms and wooded hillsides. Nestled in the heart of Tewksbury is the village of Mountainville, so named because it is located in a valley at the confluence of four mountain streams.

In the early 1800’s the village was established with a sawmill, a general store, school, post office and distillery. The latter part of the century saw the growth of the community and hunting became a popular pastime. However, as commercial activity declined, with the development of railroads and highways, Mountainville became a small summer resort. Families purchased some of the old homes and discreetly renovated them, or built new homes on large pieces of property, hence the village maintains its Currier & Ives atmosphere. Social activity now centers around the old general store, now called Gourmet Expressions, which has become a popular local eatery and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner six nights of the week. Weekends see bicyclists and walkers enjoying the quaint ambiance and quiet country roads, bordered by meandering streams.

One of the earliest homesteads in Mountainville is believed to have been the home of Jenny Alpaugh, a local family. Belle Glade is thought to have been originally built in 1803, with several later additions, and over the past few years the property has been lovingly and tastefully restored and renovated. With its rocking chair front porch overlooking the babbling stream on Guinea Hollow Road , this charming antique home is currently one of the best values in Tewksbury . Recognizing the decline in real estate values over the past two years since they first purchased the property, the current owners have priced it at 20% under their purchase price. To view listings in the Tewksbury area, please click here.

Posted by: Valerie Fraser

Here in the Somerset Hills (which for the purposes of this article we will very loosely define as Bedminster, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Bernards Twp, Tewksbury, the Chesters the Mendhams and Harding Twp) the real estate market has certainly picked up. While we have become accustomed to experiencing a spring market as early as January or February in recent years, it wasn’t until April of 2009 that we began to see an increase in contract activity. The improvement in the real estate market between the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2009 is striking and includes a number of other encouraging signs too.

Most notably, contract sales in the 2nd quarter of this year have almost doubled from the 1st Quarter. In Q1 there were a total of 167 sales, as compared with 321 in Q2. Lest we attribute the increase simply to a seasonal pattern, in 2008 there were 209 sales in Q1 and 307 in Q2, and in 2007 the numbers were 316 and 405 respectively. So while we are accustomed to seeing an increase in contract activity between the 1st and 2nd quarters, this year’s increase has been significantly more dramatic. Before you break out the champagne, keep in mind that transactions YTD are still running approximately 6% below our 2008 numbers and almost 50% below 2007.

In several other areas the performance of our real estate market also improved, including average sales price, days on market and sale price to list price ratio. Average sales price went from $568,184 in Q1 to $687,778 in Q2. Average days on market for homes that have closed declined from 101 days to 96, while the percentage of final list price achieved went from 92% to 93.4%. While these changes are small, they do reflect a positive trend in the market.

This good news is a welcome reprieve from the slide we have been experiencing for years in the New Jersey real estate market, but it is important to keep in mind that with inventory levels still so high, it may be many more months before we hit bottom and prices begin to stabilize. The good news is that for now it looks like we are headed in the right direction.

Posted by: John Turpin

As the snow and cold temperatures linger, and cabin fever sets in, perhaps it is time to discover all the winter activities that Tewksbury has to offer its residents. We are blessed with parks and recreation areas that are close by and accessible. Sledding, snow shoeing and cross-country skiing can be enjoyed at the Christie Hoffman Farm on approximately 180 acres of gently rolling hills, open fields and wooded trails. On similar acreage, the Whittemore Wildlife Sanctuary on Rockaway Road, the Cold Brook Preserve on the edge of Oldwick and Pascale Farm Park each offer opportunities to hike, cross-country ski or snowshoe in the clear winter light, with scenic views and perhaps glimpses of hawks, owls, fox, pheasant and, of course, herds of white-tail deer! With our ponds and rivers well frozen by recent frigid temperatures, there are ample choices for skating and ice hockey.

After this outdoor activity, there is always a warm welcome at the Oldwick General Store or the Tewksbury Inn for delicious soup and hot chocolate. Whether you are fortunate enough to be a resident, exploring Tewksbury’s historic villages, or even contemplating a move to this beautiful and undiscovered area of New Jersey, Tewksbury has much to offer.

Posted by: Valerie Fraser

Here in Tewksbury the real estate market has not escaped the downturn that the rest of the country has suffered, but there are still some bright spots. In the past 45 days, 12 homes have been listed in Tewksbury while four have gone under contract. This is good news when you consider that in all of 2008 Tewksbury averaged 4.66 sales per month.

Of the 12 new listings, the average list price is $1,557,463 and the median list price is $849,000. Of the 4 that have sold the average list price is $756,700. While higher priced homes continue to be listed, it is clearly the homes under $1,000,000 that are selling.

In the 4th quarter of 2008 ten homes sold, and at this moment four of those homes have closed. Of these four closed sales the average sale price was 98.8% of final list price. Two of these sales were listed below $400,000 and sold at or close to their list price. The other two were higher priced and over the course of several listing terms took and average reduction of 28.5%. This is a clear indication that even though many buyers are making very low bids, homes that are selling are those where the seller has reached a realistic listing price and the buyer recognizes the value.

The lesson for sellers is clear: Price your home correctly and you will be one of the relatively few homes to sell in this market. If you choose to “test the market” with a higher price, you are likely to spend a long time on the market and take several reductions along the way. With the market declining at a significant rate, it is plain to see that the longer your home takes to sell the lower the price you will obtain.

Posted by: John Turpin