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Typically at this time of year in Randolph there are between 120 and 140 homes for sale. At present, there are only 23.
It’s a trend agents and buyers are seeing statewide, driven in part by concerns over COVID-19 – and intense competition for the few homes on the market.
“The inventory is ridiculously low. Unprecedented, ”said Missy Iemmello, director of the corporate sales office of Weichert Realtors in Morris Plains, which has 120 real estate agents operating in Morris, Sussex, Warren, Bergen and Essex counties.
Statewide, there were only 23,011 single-family homes, townhouses, and adult condominiums and community properties available for sale as of January. As of January, there was almost double that amount, with 41,005 listed for sale, according to a report from New Jersey Realtors.
Low inventory and high demand drive up selling prices, pushing homes to sell for tens of thousands of dollars over asking price and generating bidding wars.
The median selling price of a single-family home in New Jersey in January was $ 504,585, a 22% increase from the median price in January 2020.
Many more home buyers have equity in their homes during this market surge, unlike 2006, Iemmello said. “They are financially comfortable where they are. With the activity and rising prices now is a great time to sell, but where would they go? She said.
Those selling are likely retirees moving out of state or people who have a second home, say on the shore, in which they can stay and work virtually. “This is where we see people taking advantage of this market,” she says.
Another reason for the low inventory is a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, signed by Governor Phil Murphy last March.
But Beth Kimmick, brokerage manager for ERA Central Realty in Robbinsville, doesn’t think there will be a flood of foreclosure listings in the market when the moratorium is lifted.
“Everything I’ve read and heard shows that there will be a small percentage of properties that will actually be foreclosed,” she said. “The majority of people will be able to make up for it or sell their home and not have a foreclosure.”
So, is it a good time to buy, if you can find a property?
Eric Anderson of the Alexander Anderson real estate group in Hackensack says yes – if you are buying for the long term.
“What goes up must come down,” he said. “If you are looking for the short term, you better rent.”
Some other key findings from the latest trends, according to a report from New Jersey Realtors:
- Single-family homes sell for 100.2% of the listing price, up from 97.3% in January 2020
- Single-family homes are only on the market for 44 days on average, up from 72 last year
- Pending and closed sales of single-family homes in January are both up 14% and 17% from same period last year
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Allison Pries can be reached at [email protected].
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