Realtors’ Open House Dispels Bad News

CREST HAVEN — Will there be lots of “sold” signs going up? After last weekend, it’s quite possible.
That’s because of the Cape May County Association of Realtors’ white tent at the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce headquarters at Crest Haven Road and Garden State Parkway that drew a steady stream of potential homebuyers Oct. 6 and 7.
A first-time event, the countywide Realtors’ open house opened doors of interest for travelers passing through on the balmy Columbus Day Weekend.
Just across from the tent in the County Park East field on Oct. 6 were visiting youth soccer teams playing, in the area for the 15th Annual George Pratt Memorial Columbus Day Soccer Tournament, which draws thousands of players and their families on this weekend.
Chair of the Realtors’ event, Steve Waters of McCann Realtors and Sons, Sea Isle City, told the Herald, “As an association, and for the membership, we wanted to promote the area, and to provide a positive voice against the negative feedback about the mortgage market news.”
He said there had been 32 visitors to the tent as of noon on Saturday, an hour after opening.
“Most are going to a point of interest, but we have information broken down for them by zone,” he said, and pointed to data sheets from the range of properties on the market.
There are some 650 homes on the market in Cape May County — 190 listed in Wildwood alone — at this time, he said. Those homes range from multi-million dollar “new constructions” in Stone Harbor to a $115,000 historical home inland.
“We hope to make this an annual event on the Columbus Day Weekend,” Waters added.
He said that 70 percent of the association’s members were participating in the open house, which meant 77 offices with agents ready to show homes to buyers.
Listings are available for viewing on the Realtors’ Web site: www.cmcaor.org/directory.asp.