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Archive for the 'Market Updates, Stats & forecasts' Category

Where are all the houses for sale in our NJ Midtown Direct Towns?

 

After a year or more of waiting and watching the New Jersey real estate market,  many homebuyers in our trainline towns of Summit, Millburn, Short Hills, Maplewood, and Chatham,  are ready to buy a home, hoping to take advantage of depressed prices, low interest rates, and a federal tax credit that expires this summer. But many would-be buyers are facing an unexpected concern; not enough homes for sale and high demand for many that are available. Properties below $700,000 are hardest to find; and the most desirable of those, in good condition and reasonably priced, are generating multiple bids within days of going on the market.

What we have is the “perfect storm, increased demand and decreased supply.”

But now that many buyers seem to be gaining confidence in the market, homes are in short supply, because homeowners who don’t need to move are waiting for the market to turn and drive up prices.

Prospective buyers, however, are motivated by the federal tax credit, which was extended and expanded last year to include homeowners as well as first-time buyers. To qualify, buyers must enter into a deal to purchase a home before May 1 and complete all the paperwork before July 1. Read the rest of this entry »

Low Inventory brings opportunity for Sellers in the Midtown Direct Town Real Estate Market

The inventory along the NJ midtown direct trainline towns is the lowest I’ve seen in years, so I am playing “Matchmaker” and writing this post on behalf of the Sue Adler Team’s buyers who have seen everything currently on the market and are waiting for their perfect home to appear!

The charts below ( Click Chart To Page Through To Each Town) show you the active inventory and under contracts in Millburn/Short Hills, S.Orange, Maplewood, Livingston, Summit and The Chathams.

We pulled each quarter over the past year. As you can see, homes are selling … buyers are no longer on the sidelines, but there aren’t as many to choose from. What this shows, and what we , as realtors are experiencing, is that the nice, well priced houses are selling right away. If you are curious to know your home’s value in today’s market or would like to consult to see if this is the right time for you to sell,  just give me a call (973)464-9129  

 

“Matchmaker, Matchmaker, find me a home…. catch me a catch!”

The Sue Adler Team has a Home Matchmaking Section on our website.  We only add buyers who we are actively working with, and that are preapproved. If you’re a homeowner in Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Maplewood, South Orange, Livingston, Chatham, Madison, Berkeley Heights or New Providence, and are thinking of selling your home in the next 6 months, please check out our team’s buyers and let me know if your home could possibly be a match.

 

Home buyer tax credit extension approved AND improved!

Congress heard you on the need to both extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit to continue stimulating the housing sector of the economy. The Senate voted 98-0 on Wednesday and yesterday the House voted 403-12 on legislation that includes the extension and expansion of the credit. The President is expected to sign the legislation, perhaps as early as today.

The biggest change in the bill is that current homeowners who are within the income limits posted on the chart , can get a $6500 credit for a  home up to $800,000.  This will hopefully stir up the “move up buyer” market.

Dont hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Yours to count on,

Sue Adler

(973)464-9129

Analysis of our New Jersey Housing Market

    Last night I came across a  brilliant vlog post  by my good friend in Austin, Krisstina Wise from The Good Life Team. Before you read on, watch her video, especially if you’re looking for a house, but really want to be sure we’ve hit  bottom first.  Krisstina  beautifully explains “the buying zone”, the  the window of opportunity buyers currently have in this market while the prices and interest rates are this low at the same time.

On a local level,  NJ home sales have risen for 6 straight months compared to the national existing home sales rise of 3 consecutive months.

Jeffrey Otteau, New Jersey real estate market analyst, shows in his graph below, that in June contract sales in NJ were higher than June 2008’s pace, signaling a significant break through for our market. The last time NJ home sales have risen for 6 straight months was back in  2003 during the home buying frenzy fueled by the sub-prime lending boom. The monthly sales pace in NJ has increased 115% since the beginning of the year.

Clearly  many home buyers are taking advantage of these low prices, low interest rates and the first time buyer tax credit , which are all adding to  the housing   market recovery. The problem for buyers who really want to buy is the lack of inventory right now in our Midtown direct towns. Unsold inventory declined by 600 homes in June primarily due to the 7,500 home sales during the month, causing a rise in demand for good, well priced homes , especially in the entry level market.  

So why is inventory so low?  I hear many potential sellers say that they are “waiting until the market comes back” – how long will that take and what will the rates be then?  Certainly we cant expect the market to increase more than 3-5% a year once we do have a recovery.  Today many home owners are  in a catch-22  because they need to sell first, yet don’t want to sell without having found their dream home first,  which they ultimately miss out on because they aren’t in a position to buy.  There are many options that your Realtor can help you with to avoid the catch 22 ( which I will write a blog post on another time) 

What can we expect in the next few months? Read the rest of this entry »

In the NJ Midtown Direct Trainline Towns, 95 Homes Have Gone Under Contract In Past Two Weeks!

Over the past two weeks,  did you notice how many homes in our NJ Midtown Direct Trainline Towns are selling????  

 

I just went into GSMLS and searched all homes in  Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Maplewood, South Orange and Livingston, and found that 95 homes have gone under contract in the past two weeks. This does not include all of the ones that are in attorney review! 

Compare This To the last 2 weeks of  March, where only 45 homes went under contract in these towns, and the last 2 weeks of February where there were only 18 homes to go under contract.

Why now??

Move up Buyers finally are selling their existiing homes and there is finally enough inventory for them to want to make the upward move.

MORE  NJ Sellers are pricing right, staging their homes and listing with Realtors who are creating a sense of urgency for them  ( yes, shameless plug) , so those 95 homes are selling, while others remain sitting. 

The RATES-  I just refinanced at 4.625%.  How long do you think they’ll stay below 5%?

Its Spring!  The clock is ticking to get in for the school year – beats the 30k per year private school tuition.  The 3rd baby has been born and the 1 bedroom apartment won’t work anymore, etc… life goes on.. you get the picture.

 

Millburn/Short Hills Monthly Home Sales Stats and Market Report

View Monthly Home Sale Prices and Market Stats

Summit NJ Monthly Home Sale Prices and Market Statistics

  VIEW Summit NJ Monthly Home Sale Prices and Market Statistics

South Orange NJ Monthly Home Sale Prices and Stats

 

South Orange, NJ  Home Sale Prices and Stats

VIEW South Orange NJ Sale Prices and statistics

 

Chatham Monthly Home Sales Stats and Market Report

Chatham, NJ January 2009 Home Sales Stats

VIEW Home sale prices and Market Stats for Chatham NJ  

Madison NJ Monthly Home Sales Stats and Market Report

Madison, NJ Homes Sale Prices and  Stats, Updated Monthly

VIEW Madison NJ home sale prices and stats