Bay Head & Mantoloking Today – November 2019 – Flood Rate Increase Delay, Courtesy Keys, Christmas, Market
As you may know, or as you may have experienced, we had the first true cold snap of the season last week – a low of 24 degrees last Wednesday morning! Happily, we’ve had a mild fall thus far, but now the season is really changing! This also allows for a change in the “cooking season” – soups, stews, and baking now fit the weather! Last weekend, Meagan and Ed cured and smoked some homemade bacon! If you have a favorite cold weather or holiday recipe that you’d like to share, please do! We will share a selection of them in our next update. Our office is collecting non-perishable food items and new, unwrapped toys for St. Gregory’s Pantry. Donations are welcome at any time. Thank you!
Cold weather also marks the onset of “frozen pipe season” – we hope that your homes are all ready for this – water off, and/or heat set to 55 or higher! If you need a recommendation as to someone to help keep an eye on your home over the winter, please let us know, and we can suggest some services that offer this. Also, on a related topic – in an emergency, it is helpful for the police or fire company to have access to your house, without delay – eg – in the event of a broken pipe. To that end, both Bay Head and Mantoloking police departments will hold keys for property owners for use in the event of an emergency. Just stop by during standard business hours, and they will provide the necessary paperwork. Or, if you prefer, we do hold courtesy keys for some properties – in the event of an emergency or other need, an authorized person could obtain a key. If you need help with either of these items, just let us know!
Bay Head’s Christmas Walk is Friday, December 6th, and you can find more details here.
As some of you may know, we periodically mail out our magazine, American Lifestyle (containing articles regarding food, travel, art, and many other topics). We are now offering a digital version – if you would like to receive it, please let us know (just reply to this email).
We hope that you enjoy this month’s video below!
Around the Towns
On November 9th, Bay Head and Mantoloking joined together to commemorate Veterans Day, and to honor and thank all veterans. The ceremony, at the Blue Star Memorial at Scow Ditch was well attended. Speakers included local clergy, politicians, active and retired Navy personnel, as well as other local citizens. A portion of the ceremony is included in the video above.
Earlier in November, FEMA announced a delay in the implementation of the proposed flood insurance premium increase. The new rates were scheduled to go into effect in October 2020, but the effective date has been delayed until 2021. Of course, all of this is always subject to change!
“…additional time is required to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the proposed rating structure so as to protect policyholders and minimize any unintentional negative effects of the transition. Therefore, FEMA decided to defer the implementation of Risk Rating 2.0 by one year to October 1, 2021. Additionally, this extension allows for all National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies – including, single-family homes, multi-unit and commercial properties – to changeover to the new rating system at one time instead of a phased approach, as originally proposed.” – FEMA
You can find the full press release here.
Bay Head’s annual Christmas Walk is scheduled for Friday, December 6th, from 5:00 to 9:00, with events continuing through the weekend. Many business will stay open late, including our office, with its holiday brass band! Please stop by and say hi. Details can be found below. In Mantoloking, the town’s tree lighting will be held on Sunday, December 8th, at 5:30PM, at the borough hall.
Events
Bay Head Christmas Walk – 5:00 – 9:00PM, Friday, December 6th – events continue through the weekend – details here.
Mantoloking Town Tree Lighting – 5:30PM, Sunday, December 8th – at the borough hall.
The I Love Bay Head and Suzie & Ed Facebook pages are also good sources of information about upcoming events. If you are not on Facebook (or even if you are), always feel free to call or email with any questions.
Meetings
The next Bay Head Council Meeting will be held on December 2nd at 7:00PM, and Mantoloking’s next regular Council Meeting is on December 17th, at 5:30PM (agenda setting meeting is on the 10th). The next Bay Head Planning Board meeting is on December 18th at 7:30PM, and the next Mantoloking Planning Board meeting is on December 5th at 6:30PM.
The Mantoloking borough hall is closed on Thanksgiving and the day after, and Bay Head will likely follow a similar schedule.
Additional town meetings can be found on the respective websites, linked below. If you can’t find an answer to your question, please let us know.
Market
Market activity has continued into the late fall. Mild weather has helped, in that usually colder weather keeps buyers’ minds on other topics. Having said that, buyers that continue to look at homes around the holidays are more serious than most, and happily, those buyers are out there! Details about the market activity in the last 30 days can be found below.
As always, all of our current listings can be found on our website.
If you have questions about your property, or another neighborhood, please ask.
In Bay Head, there are currently 27 homes and parcels of land on the market, (down 2 from last month) and 4 properties under contract. In the last 30 days, there have been 4 closings in Bay Head.
In Mantoloking, there are currently 27 homes and parcels of land on the market (down 6 from last month), and 6 properties under contract. There has been 1 closing in Mantoloking in the last 30 days. If you would like to receive more frequent updates, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram (#suzieandedrealtors), or please give us a call.
We always welcome your comments, suggestions for topics, and other feedback. If there is a particular topic that you would like us to cover, or a question that you need an answer to, please let us know.
If you have questions about your own property, or know someone (near or far), who is talking about moving, please keep us in mind. If the contemplated move is outside of the areas we serve, we can happily provide a referral to a well qualified agent just about anywhere.
Be well, be safe, and we hope that you have a great Thanksgiving!
We are here if you need us!
Ed and Suzie
All statistics are per the Monmouth/Ocean MLS as of 11/20/19.