Buyer Frenzy Pushes Maplewood Home Over $1 Million – Here’s Why, Realtor Says

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — If you want to use the bathroom at 25 Burnett Terrace in Maplewood, you’ll have to climb the stairs to the second floor, or descend to a half-bath in the basement. Despite this design flaw – or quirk, as some might call it – and other drawbacks such as kitchen cabinets that date back to 1923, the 103-year-old suburban home recently set off a major bidding war and sold for $1.18 million, reports say.

“We were hoping to get mid-to-high $900,000s for it – if we were lucky, maybe break into the million mark,” Mark Slade of Keller Williams Midtown Direct Realty told NJ Advance Media.

However – three open houses, 25 scheduled showings and 16 offers later – the final sale price for the three-bedroom home in North Jersey had risen to 49 percent more than its listing price of $800,000.

The key to success? Timing and knowing the local market, he said.

“That week we were fortunate that there were not any houses competing at the same price point,” Slade told NJ.com.

“There was nothing so unique or special about the house that you’ve got to have it,” Slade added. “We put in the effort, priced it sharply and there was no competition. So it stood out as must-see for buyers who want to get into the area.”

The winning buyer sweetened the pot by agreeing to cover the real estate commission and the state’s “mansion tax,” which applies to sales above $1 million, the New York Post reported.

The home last sold in 2001 for $300,000. Property taxes came to $18,751 last year, according to Realtor.com.

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