Guide Me Home to North Jersey

Here in the Somerset Hills (which for the purposes of this article we will very loosely define as Bedminster, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Bernards Twp, Tewksbury, the Chesters the Mendhams and Harding Twp) the real estate market has certainly picked up. While we have become accustomed to experiencing a spring market as early as January or February in recent years, it wasn’t until April of 2009 that we began to see an increase in contract activity. The improvement in the real estate market between the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2009 is striking and includes a number of other encouraging signs too.

Most notably, contract sales in the 2nd quarter of this year have almost doubled from the 1st Quarter. In Q1 there were a total of 167 sales, as compared with 321 in Q2. Lest we attribute the increase simply to a seasonal pattern, in 2008 there were 209 sales in Q1 and 307 in Q2, and in 2007 the numbers were 316 and 405 respectively. So while we are accustomed to seeing an increase in contract activity between the 1st and 2nd quarters, this year’s increase has been significantly more dramatic. Before you break out the champagne, keep in mind that transactions YTD are still running approximately 6% below our 2008 numbers and almost 50% below 2007.

In several other areas the performance of our real estate market also improved, including average sales price, days on market and sale price to list price ratio. Average sales price went from $568,184 in Q1 to $687,778 in Q2. Average days on market for homes that have closed declined from 101 days to 96, while the percentage of final list price achieved went from 92% to 93.4%. While these changes are small, they do reflect a positive trend in the market.

This good news is a welcome reprieve from the slide we have been experiencing for years in the New Jersey real estate market, but it is important to keep in mind that with inventory levels still so high, it may be many more months before we hit bottom and prices begin to stabilize. The good news is that for now it looks like we are headed in the right direction.

Posted by: John Turpin

In last Sunday’s New York Times the headline in the Real Estate section was “For the Brave, the Moment is Now”. The article goes on to say that in New York City, in the last few weeks, first time homebuyers are beginning to take advantage of depressed prices and very attractive mortgage rates. Buyers without a place to sell, who have stable jobs and good credit are certainly in the drivers seat right now. Many who previously were priced out of the market can now afford to own their own home.

Traditionally, as the New York City market picks up, the increase in activity ripples out to surrounding areas. The homes that are moving in our area tend to be the lower priced homes. Fourteen Condominiums or Townhomes went Under Contract in the last month, in the area of Bernards Township, Bedminster and Bernardsville, which is two more than the same time last year. So the dream of home ownership is now becoming a reality for some who previously found it just out of their grasp.

Posted by: Susan Wagner