The Alternative Press

SUMMIT, NJ - Homebuyers and sellers in Summit, New Providence, Short Hills and the surrounding communities know that there are myriad real estate offices in the area that are competing for their business.

The Lubeck family of Woodward Properties acknowledges this, too, and they make it a point to place a high degree of emphasis on establishing a first-name basis with their clients, and on stressing the intimacy and familial nature of their agency at 92 Summit Avenue, at the corner of Bank Street in downtown Summit.

“Service is extremely important to us,” said Norman Lubeck, a Realtor for 40 years who opened Woodward Properties with his son, Robert, in 1995.

“Everyone in our office works together; we’re not really competing with one another,” Norman said. “If a buyer or seller calls our office, and their agent is not available, we don’t just send them to a voice mailbox. You’re able to speak to someone who cares about you.”

Robert Lubeck said the culture at Woodward Properties breeds a sense of openness.

“When someone calls on us, everyone (in the office) knows that customer or seller,” Robert Lubeck said. “We’re not rivals around here, and no one feels that they have to go in a corner and whisper about a deal. We are a professional organization. People come back to us for our level of professionalism. They know that they will get the help they need no matter which agent they get. Those are the values that people know that we have.”

The Lubecks are all about strong values, and they also are quick to point out that the other kind of “values”— namely home values — also are of utmost importance in a market that saw the vast majority of homes retain much more of their value than homes in other parts of the nation and the state during the housing slump of the last half-decade.

“We are very fortunate that when the market was going down around the country, we weren’t hit nearly as hard,” Norman said. “We may have had about a 10 percent (drop), but places in Florida lost 30 to 40 percent of their value. About a year and a half ago, the market started to come back. We have a lot of buyers and not a lot of inventory right now.”

Summit, Berkeley Heights, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Long Hill Township (Gillette, Meyersville, Millington, Stirling) Madison, Millburn, Mountainside, Short Hills, Springfield, Warren and Watchung are the communities that make up the core of Woodward Properties’ market.

“These are well-established communities,” Robert said. “I’d say they’re financially stable communities. There’s not a lot of flipping of properties, and we don’t have a lot of home owners under water.”

“The schools in these communities are excellent, too,” Norman said.

The Lubecks started their own company as an affiliation with the Woodward Realty Group, which also has three offices in Monmouth County.

“But we act autonomously,” Robert said. “We are an affiliate in the Summit area, and they cover all of Monmouth County.”

Robert Lubeck recently returned from a convention in Las Vegas held by The Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, which has more than 500 member companies in 30 countries.

“We are in our first round of education requirements to make sure in New Jersey that agents are up to speed on laws and regulations,” Robert said. “New Jersey is the last state in the country to have continuing education requirements (for its real estate agents).”

Woodward Properties also has an associate, Joe Grasso, who specializes in estate transactions. Grasso is a 16-year veteran of the company.

And Woodward Properties takes pride in its involvement in the communities and charitable activities, including a longtime association with the Susan G. Komen For The Cure and the Summit Boosters Association.

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