Ep # 167 - A Local Realtor Explains How Community, Schools, And Inventory Shape Today’s Market

Want to know why some towns become magnets for families while others stall out? We sit down with Demarest resident and realtor Kara Fowler to unpack how the Northern Valley evolved through COVID, why inventory still sets the pace, and what actually matters when you’re choosing a place to live. Kara moved from Long Island nearly three decades ago, raised three kids, and now helps new buyers navigate the same streets, schools, and community rituals that won her over—tree lightings by the pond, Town Day at the old train station, and a small-town feel that’s rare this close to Manhattan.

We dig into the market mechanics without the jargon. Rates in the sixes aren’t the real story; constrained supply is. Kara explains how pandemic-era demand from Manhattan, Hoboken, and Jersey City collided with top-ranked schools to create fierce competition, knockdowns, and high-end new builds. She shares practical timing tips for winter listings, how serious buyers operate when sidewalks are icy, and why preparation—financing, flexibility, and a hyper-local agent—beats wishful thinking. If you’ve driven Demarest’s quiet streets and wondered about those modern colonials, you’ll learn what’s fueling that shift and how to evaluate value, not just price.

Kara also lifts the curtain on real estate work. The job isn’t quick commissions; it’s months of showings, steady marketing, and problem-solving for life milestones—from first apartments and co-signs to retirees unlocking equity to be closer to grandkids. Her edge isn’t a slogan; it’s lived-in knowledge of the Northern Valley: the bus that gets you to Port Authority on time, the right after-school programs, the trailheads for a Saturday reset. That kind of guidance turns a house hunt into a confident decision.

If you’re planning a move, curious about Demarest, or considering a real estate career, this conversation will give you a clear, honest picture of the path ahead. Subscribe for more local stories and practical insights, share with a neighbor who’s house-hunting, and leave a review to tell us what neighborhood you want us to explore next.

Kara Fowler
Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
(201) 568-5668
kara.fowler@sothebysrealty.com
WEBSITE

Transcript

Welcome And Kara’s Demarest Story

Intro/Close 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.

Doug Drohan 0:11

Hey, good morning, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, coming to you live from a snowy and cold Bergen County. I am your host, Doug Drohan, the owner of the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. Today we are joined by someone who is one of the very first family features of my neighbors magazine, neighbors of closer Demrest and Hallworth. Today we are interviewing Kara Fowler, who is an uh a long-term 28-year resident of Demrest, New Jersey. Kara, welcome to the show.

Kara Fowler 0:38

Thank you. How are you?

Doug Drohan 0:39

Good. I'm well. Now, I I actually didn't say that you are a realtor uh working with Sotheby's International out of uh Tenefly. So it's yeah, it's nice that you're on the cover with your husband, but uh more importantly, you you're in real estate and you are, you know, have grown up basically and raised your family in in the Northern Valley areas, so you've got a lot to bring in terms of uh any new buyers that are looking to move into this area. Is that correct?

Kara Fowler 1:06

Yes, I actually um have been in Demrest for now close to 30 years uh since the magazine came out. And uh yeah, we raised three children in Demerest. And uh I grew up in Long Island and I had never heard of Demerest, but uh when it was recommended to us by uh friends and we checked it out, we just fell in love with it, and uh it's been uh an amazing place to raise a family. We moved there not knowing anyone, and we've made lifelong friends in Denrest.

Doug Drohan 1:45

So I know we've had this discussion, but what part of Long Island are you from?

Kara Fowler 1:48

Uh King's Park, little town on the North Shore.

Doug Drohan 1:52

I mean, you're out there, but I grew up in uh Northport, so King's Park.

Kara Fowler 1:57

Right next to King's Park.

Doug Drohan 1:58

Yep, yep. Although uh you know that's where the ice rink was superior ice rink. That was like the other.

Kara Fowler 2:03

I remember superior ice rink.

Doug Drohan 2:06

I used to play hockey on the outdoor rink in the Dix Hills, um and and not to date myself, but it was a town of Huntington ice rink, and you know, it was weird how the towns work, right? Like I lived in East Northport, but it's a town of Huntington. Um, but it was 50 cents for two hours to skate on a Saturday. Maybe it was a dollar, I don't know, but it was cheap. My parents would drop, you know, me and my friends off, and for two hours we were skating and had a lot of fun, but uh I didn't really go to Superior that was where our high school team would play because it was the only rink in Suffolk County, I think.

Long Island Memories And Small-Town Ties

Kara Fowler 2:42

Um I think I remember Friday night skates at Superior.

Doug Drohan 2:46

Uh I used to do the I used to do the Friday night roller skate at Comac Roller Rink.

Kara Fowler 2:50

Oh my gosh, I did too.

Doug Drohan 2:52

Yeah, the the like Saturday night fever floor with the lights and everything, and yeah, it was embarrassing. I didn't really know how to roller skate, but I went there because of a girl and uh totally embarrassed myself, but that's okay. I kept going back and got better at it. Um, so we divert. Uh, whenever I hear somebody from Long Island, you know, it's it's not to your point. Um, it's rare that somebody from the island would come across two rivers and discover Demrist or Harrington Park or whatever, but here we are. So um, you know, you raised your kids here, and how long have you been in real estate?

Kara Fowler 3:28

Uh I've been in real estate about four years.

Doug Drohan 3:32

Okay.

Pivot From Schools To Real Estate

Kara Fowler 3:32

I was always interested in uh, you know, homes and the intricacies of real estate. Whenever my husband and I would travel somewhere, I I always found myself, you know, googling uh how much the houses were in that area, whether it be Hilton Head or Sanibel or uh wherever we happened to be. And and it was always something that I enjoyed. I loved watching all the home shows and uh I I never really pursued it because I was raising three kids and I was uh volunteering for the PTO and on the swim club board and um uh that type of thing. But uh and I was also working in local school districts in uh in main offices, and uh I happened to be working in the school in a school district in the main office during COVID, which was a very difficult place to be because you know you're the first line of defense before the principal and parents had very strong views either way about masking and not masking and sending kids to school. And uh that was when I said, you know what, I cannot work in a school anymore. So uh, you know, I had to take a pause and say, you know, let's let's do something for for me, because uh two of my sons had already gone off to school and I only had one child left, and uh I decided just to take the real estate course and just to enrich myself, and I found myself really enjoying it, and I decided to take the test. And I passed on the first try, and I was working for Sotheby's, you know, like three weeks later. So it really happened um quickly, but I I actually wish that I had gotten into it sooner because I just yeah, we know that um the initial shock of COVID when realtors had to look at oh my god, we got to do virtual house tours and open houses and things like that.

COVID Migration And Market Shifts

Doug Drohan 5:44

That was like, you know, March, April, May. And then by June, I think it was, I know where my business went, and then it started to really pick up was then all these New Yorkers and Hudson County people started saying, hey, I don't need to live close to the city or in the city anymore because I'm not going to the office. So let's finally move to the burbs. And a lot of people, and you could probably um, you know, correct me if I'm wrong, but Northern Valley area, you know, let's say from Tennefly on up, Demarest, Hallworth, Cloister, even Harrington Park and Old DePan, but more so on your side, a lot of New Yorkers came during COVID. I mean, a lot of people that I featured in my magazine use that story, you know, that that's part of their story. We moved here during COVID. Um, but now things have slowed down because of inventory, you know, and interest rates are not 2.5%, which was historically ridiculous. And if I think about what I, you know, my first home in the 90s, I think I was paying nine or seven percent, maybe eight percent, which at the time was like, hey, that's good. Let's grab it. So historically, people are a little um skewed in in recent memory, but I think it's six and a half percent. It's not a bad thing. But the more of the problem, I think, from you know what I'm hearing and seeing is it's inventory. It's not so much the interest rates, it's the inventory. Is that correct?

Kara Fowler 7:05

Yes, it's it's definitely inventory, although inventory is starting to pick up because uh interest rates are hovering in the six range, and it's really the lowest that uh it's been in a year. So uh inventory is picking up and uh this time of year, especially because uh sellers are getting ready for the spring buyers.

Doug Drohan 7:31

Um, right now it's a little tough because we haven't had a winter like this in a long time.

Kara Fowler 7:37

Yes, I where you just don't want to be able to do it. Yeah, so it's a little bit quiet, but uh the serious buyers are are out, you know.

Doug Drohan 7:45

Um and is this yeah, is this a good time if you're like you know, is this always this misconception that I'll never list your house in the winter, but maybe there's less competition and yeah, and you're dealing with people who are really serious about looking for a house, not people who are like, oh, it's a nice day, let's drive around and uh you know, hit some open houses and and see what a million-dollar home looks like. Um nowadays a million dollar home is uh a split level.

Rates, Inventory, And Winter Strategy

Kara Fowler 8:15

Yes, especially especially in Demrest. Demarest is just the hottest I've I've ever seen it in my 30 years. Our own home, I think, quadrupled in uh in worth since we bought it in uh 96, I think it was.

Doug Drohan 8:32

Wow, wow. Yeah, my house I bought eight plus years ago, and it's uh gone up about 30, 30, 40 percent, I guess. You know, but it's all paper right now. I'm not selling, so what does it matter? But I want to talk about Demerist because when I drive through Demarest, I see a lot of new construction. So I guess people are knocking down houses and they're putting up some really nice architecturally uh interesting homes. Um is that like, and who are these people? Are they coming from the city or are they just coming from all over? Like what is it about Demarest specifically that you think is attracting people that and these homes that they're putting up, they're definitely, you know, the value's gotta be one and a half, you know, 1.5 at least, and the ones just from what I've seen when I drive around. Um, you know, what do you think is driving that?

Demarest Demand And New Construction

Kara Fowler 9:23

Yeah, uh the number one factor is the school district. Uh Northern Valley Demrest is consistently rated in the top 10 school districts in all of New Jersey. And uh the lower schools, um, County Road School and Luther Lee are often number one or number two elementary schools uh when U.S. News and World Report comes out uh with their rankings. So it's definitely the schools. Uh we're seeing a lot of young families uh from the city, but also from Hoboken and Jersey City who uh were doing apartment living with uh you know toddlers and now they need more space, but they're also looking for a top-notch school district. And uh, you know, it's not only the school district. When I talk about Demarest, I talk about the sense of community and all the uh you know charming events that you know sometimes I feel like I'm in a Hallmark movie, you know, when I go to the tree lighting and I see families and uh candy canes and hot chocolate and and the menorah lighting and Oktoberfest and the Boy Scouts giving kids canoe rides on the pond. I mean, you know, sometimes I'm just like I can't believe that this is a real place, you know.

Doug Drohan 10:46

Yeah, the one thing Demarest has going for it is the uh the duck pond and the the stream that goes right through the center of town and that you know the old train station. Uh I've I've had a table or booth at Town Day. Uh it's a nice, it's a nice turnout. You know, there's every town has its town day. Um it's a little overwhelming. Um, but Demarest has that nice location there. Not much of a downtown in Demarest. You've got Yasumios, Tunk of Donuts and a liquor store, and that's about it. Right, right.

Kara Fowler 11:16

Although that's changing. Uh I don't know if you've heard they're going to um they're working on a lease for somebody to come into the train station and do a restaurant.

Doug Drohan 11:25

So I did hear a while back that the owners of MKT Diner in Cloister were gonna turn that into like a taco place, but it wouldn't be cooked on site, it would be cooked at the diner in the cloister and then brought down to Demarest. And I'm like, ah, I don't know about that. And this whole taco craze thing, I don't I think it's more yeah, wow.

Kara Fowler 11:47

I didn't hear that. I heard that.

Doug Drohan 11:48

Well, that was that was brass ago. The owner told me that, but uh okay. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't go through.

Kara Fowler 11:55

Yeah, I think the latest plan is uh an American brassery.

Schools, Community, And Family Appeal

Doug Drohan 12:00

Okay, so they're gonna outfit it with a kitchen, you know, things change. Um kind of like uh Cafe Angelique and Tanify, right?

Kara Fowler 12:07

Yeah.

Doug Drohan 12:08

I mean, that's a great spot. Um that's cool. I mean it it's great, and that that's what's um I guess unique. The other thing I I I would say the draw is is even though people are moving out of the city, they still have to work in the city, even if it's not as many days a week, but that is more and more now. And if you drive in, I mean you could, you know, Demarest has the bus that I used to take into the city, but um, you know, it is closer miles-wise to to Manhattan than in most places in Burton County. So you got the good schools, and you have, you know, at three o'clock in the morning you get an easy commute into the city.

Kara Fowler 12:44

It's it's close to everything. Uh you know, you're not that far from the beach, even though when I moved here from Long Island, I always out of country can't go to the beach. I didn't really do my homework as far as maybe the Hudson, the Hudson River beach you could go to. Well, if you go to like the higher beaches, the ones that you know, like Point Pleasant, you know, you could get there in an hour and 20 minutes, which is you know, as a Long Islander, I was like, what? You know, because we went to Robert Moses and we were there in 20 minutes, you know, yeah, yeah, every weekend.

Doug Drohan 13:18

Yeah, same with me. Yeah, or if you went to the North Shore, I went to Sunken Meadow.

Kara Fowler 13:22

Right. Oh my gosh, I get five minutes from Sunken Meadow. I used to I learned a screen. But you know, you're close to the city, you're close to uh you know, uh Greenwood Lake, where we uh like to go boating, and uh you're not so far from like Hunter Mountain if you like to ski.

Doug Drohan 13:41

Yes, true right up. I mean Piermont Nyaks right there. Yeah.

Commute, Location, And Lifestyle Perks

Kara Fowler 13:45

Three good airports. Um you know, you could you can get into the city. Well, I mean, my husband used to commute uh, you know, in the late 90s, and it used to take him about 45 minutes at that time. And now it takes a lot longer. But um, my daughter now is commuting to the city and uh she's taking the bus, and you know, you're there in an hour, which is getting into the city was like an hour from Harrington Park, that was the first stop.

Doug Drohan 14:15

Um, coming home is always a different challenge. You never know what you were walking into when you got to Port Authority, but going in wasn't so bad. Um, so what do you like as far as being a realtor, like what do you feel like you bring to the table that might be a little different or unique? And I think we touched on a lot of it. I mean, you know so much about Demrest, but obviously you don't sell homes just in Demrest. Um, you know, what what do you think it is about like your whole background that led you to this in in your life that brings that you bring these qualities to being a realtor that's beneficial to buyers and sellers?

What Kara Brings To Buyers And Sellers

Kara Fowler 14:53

Um I love meeting new people. Um I love helping new people. So uh, you know, I think a lot of people assume that when you become a realtor, it's about the compensation. And um I think that if it's just about that, you're not going to succeed as a realtor. Um my favorite thing about being a realtor is helping a young family uh find their dream home. You know, it's so happy to be, it makes me so happy to be part of the process. Uh so whether I'm helping a young family discover Demerest, I just can't wait to tell them about all the great things about Demerest. And not just Demrest, because I've, you know, been um around all of Burton County. So and with three kids, you know a lot more than just Demerest. You know, my daughter took gymnastics at Paragon and she did dance in New Milford and you know, just being able to talk about restaurants and and the art school uh in Demrest and stuff like that makes me you know thrilled that another family is going to be able to experience what I experienced.

Speaker 3 16:07

Yeah.

Kara Fowler 16:07

So I love that. I also love helping uh, you know, retired people finally get the equity out of their house. And you know, they're thrilled that now they have financial freedom and they're they're about to plan a cruise or they're gonna move down closer to their grandchildren. And so that part of it makes me really happy too. Um, I recently helped a young woman find her very first apartment after, you know, it's not easy when you only have six months of job history and you know they're looking for d savings and pay stubs and all that stuff. But um I helped her work it out so her dad could co-sign for her, and it was her very first apartment, and she was just she she was beaming, and and that's uh what I love about it. I love yeah I love like being part of these life events.

The Reality Of Being A Realtor

Doug Drohan 17:06

Yeah, that's great. So what um you know, what advice would you give to somebody maybe thinking about getting into real estate? Because I think uh one of the things I, you know, my whole career, I worked in Manhattan, right? And then I started this business. This is my ninth year. I never knew how many people had real estate licenses, how many realtors there were. Uh, you know, so there's a lot. And I think I don't know what you probably know better than me, you know, thousands in Bergen County alone, probably. Um, because people are drawn to those shows where they're in a million-dollar listings. Oh, I you know, I sell a house for five million and I get five percent. Well, no, you don't, okay. I get two and a half percent. Well, no, you don't, but whatever. You you do the math in your head and you're like, oh man, I only need to sell three homes a year and I'm set, you know. Um, and I know that during the before the financial crisis in 2007, there was a big rush for people quitting their jobs and becoming realtors. Um, then it seemed pretty easy again. Um, and then COVID hit, and what I found was the people that always kept themselves working and busy and marketed and branded themselves, they're the ones that really thrived through COVID. People that really didn't do much to build their business suffered. Um, so I think the biggest um misconception that I've seen with real owners is that they think, okay, I got my license, now it's all gonna come to me. But you got to work, it's a business, you know, you're a business owner like anybody else. Um, so what have you found in this journey of saying, well, I like real estate? Um, and what advice do you think, if you want to give any advice to anybody from um mindset to work ethic to marketing yourself?

Go All In: Work, Brand, And Value

Kara Fowler 18:51

Uh well, I think that the misconception uh that you know it's super easy to uh be a realtor is is prevalent because I think people assume that, you know, uh everybody that you know is going to want to work with you. And when I got my license, I found out that everybody I know knows five other realtors. And you know, I'm not the only realtor in the friend group. And there are people that don't want to work with a friend, uh, that they would like to keep their personal and their finances separate. So uh you can't always uh assume that, well, I've got 10 friends that are gonna be ready to downsize soon and they're all going to use me. That's not really uh how it goes. Um and there are uh, you know, there's a lot of competition out there, and a lot of people are looking for a realtor that's been in the business a long time. So uh you do have to work at it every day as far as um, you know, social media and going to the office and being there to answer the phone. Um, if you think that you want to do it part-time, like on the side in addition to something else, that is just not going to work because the hours that you need to market yourself and then take care of, you know, the listing or the buying side of it and showings, you know, you could be working with a family for a year before they find a house, you know, you could show hundreds of homes to a couple of families, and you know, there is no uh you don't get paid for any of that, you know, you don't get paid until they go to the closing table. So um it's not uh a steady income, uh, it's uh up and down, you know. So um it's it's hard work, it's harder work than I assumed it would be. Um, but for me, I you know, I just love it. And um I would say if you're really interested in in it and you have the time to take the course and you're still interested by the end of the course because it's hard work and it's a lot of studying, uh, and there's a lot of out of pocket expenses that uh leachers have to cover for themselves. Um you know, your own insurance and and everything you're self-employed. So uh, you know, like me, I said I'm just gonna take the course and see if I really like real estate or if I just like watching it on TV. So you know, you have to take the test and uh, you know, if you pass it and you're still interested, I'd it also it's also helpful to after you pass the test w go around and meet with different agencies and and learn what they uh what they do to help you. Some agencies are a little more hands-on. Um there's always learning opportunities. Uh but it's definitely hard work and it's not something that I I think you can do on the side for fun.

Doug Drohan 22:20

Yeah. Yeah. I think um that is something that I learned from um going in business for myself. If you just dip your toes in it, um you know there's a saying like you, you know, you just have to dive right into it and going in going in up to your knees just won't cut it.

Speaker 3 22:37

Right.

Doug Drohan 22:37

Uh and if you can't get used to the water you weren't meant to swim. Actually those are lyrics that I wrote a long time ago. I called a wrote a song.

Kara Fowler 22:44

Really?

Doug Drohan 22:45

Take a dip. Yeah.

Kara Fowler 22:46

Are you do you want to perform any any any of it for us today?

Doug Drohan 22:50

Uh no no I don't have my guitar with me but uh yeah going back in my twenties I used to write a lot that was uh called Take a dip. But it is you know you can't go halfway you got to go all in um within reason right you're not gonna spend ten thousand dollars a month in marketing right unless you have a big runway to to do that. But well that's great car I mean I you know I I think um you know just to recap you know a lot of the things that you bring to the table are certainly your your knowledge of the community uh all the different things that you know like I one of the pet peeves I had with realtors when I was looking for places like when I lived in Hudson County I owned an apartment and I was listing it to sell it and the realtor knew nothing about like I had views of Manhattan uh the condo that we lived in was dog friendly we lived across from a a huge park uh we had 24-7 access and those little gypsy buses that went into the city um you know Hoboken was four miles away the city was right across the river you had edgewater right there they didn't know anything about it they were just gonna take my listing I ended up writing the marketing material because they didn't they couldn't explain what it was like living there um better than I could and I think that's some of the the um problems that people have run into when they've hired a realtor is that what are you doing?

How To Reach Kara And Closing

Kara Fowler 24:07

Just putting my house on the market like what what are you bringing to the table that's gonna help me sell my home or help me find a new home so I think you know from from our conversation it's clear that you know so much about the area um and what you've loved about it and I think that comes across so so how do people get in touch with you um I have a Facebook page uh cara adamo Fowler uh my Instagram handle is the same and uh I am at the prominent properties office in Tenafly on 90 County Road uh or they can call me on my cell phone which is give my phone number 201568413 all right very good all right Kara thank you very much for joining us we're gonna have Chuck take us out and then uh you and I will be right back. It was nice talking with you.

Intro/Close 25:02

Yeah you too thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast to nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show go to gmpbergen.com that's gmpbergen.com or call 201 298 8325 22