Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Hudson County, NJ

The Hudson County housing market surged yet again in the third quarter, with prices rising overall and particularly for multi‑family and condo properties. Overall sales for the county were down almost 8% from last year’s third quarter, with both multi‑family and condo sales falling sharply due to the lack of inventory available on the market. But that lack of supply, coupled with high levels of demand, is having a dramatic impact on pricing. Average prices were up over 8% from last year’s third quarter for all property types, rising over 3% for single‑family homes, 11% for multi‑family, and almost 9% for condos. And for the year, we’re seeing pretty dramatic price appreciation: single‑family homes up 8%, multi‑families up 17%, and condos up 6%. Going forward, we expect this to continue through a robust fourth quarter, and into 2019, as demand for housing in Hudson remains strong.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Sussex County, NJ

The Sussex market surged yet again in the third quarter, with small increases in sales coupled with a dramatic jump in pricing. Transactions were only up about 2% for the quarter, but that finished a year where sales rose over 9%. That’s a pretty robust showing compared to other markets in the region. This strong buyer demand is having its expected impact on pricing, with the average price spiking over 8% and the median up over 5%. And we’re starting to finally see some long‑term price appreciation, with the average price up 3% for the rolling year and the median up just a tick. More importantly, inventory has finally come down to manageable levels, almost to the six‑month level that usually denotes a seller’s market. Going forward, we expect continued strength in sales coupled with meaningful price appreciation through a strong fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Essex County, NJ

The Essex housing market experienced a strong third quarter, with both sales and prices rising in what is now a pretty robust seller’s market. Sales were up over 5% for the quarter, finishing a year in which they rose about 3%. That’s not a torrid transactional pace, but compared to other counties in the market, which generally saw flat or declining sales due to the lack of inventory, it was a pretty encouraging result. And prices were up for the quarter, rising a tick on average and up almost 3% at the median. More importantly, we’re seeing long‑term price appreciation, with average prices up over 1% and the median rising almost 5% for the rolling year. And we’re seeing seller’s gain leverage in negotiating, with the days‑on‑market falling over 5% for the quarter and now 7% for the year, and the listing retention rate continuing to go up above full price. Going forward, with inventory still falling, we might see some restriction on sales growth, but we believe prices still have room to go up through the fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Morris County, NJ

The Morris County housing market contained a series of contradictory indicators in the third quarter, with sales up, prices down, and the negotiability metrics suggesting increased leverage for sellers. Unlike most of the higher‑end markets in the region, Morris actually experienced sales growth, with sales up over 3% for the quarter, and the rolling-year totals relatively flat. But also unlike those other markets, Morris saw some price depreciation, with prices down almost 3% on average and 2% at the median. Meanwhile, the secondary metrics all pointed to increasing seller leverage: Inventory was down a tick, and now below the six‑month level that denotes a seller’s market; days‑on‑market fell again, and the listing retention rate was up just a tick. So what to make of the decline in pricing? Well, that might just be a blip, the result of some disproportionate strength in the middle‑ and lower‑range price points of the market. Indeed, if you look at the rolling year, prices are up nicely. Going forward, we will watch the pricing trend, but we do believe that demand is strong and will eventually drive more meaningful price appreciation through the fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Passaic County, NJ

The Passaic housing market cooled off a little in the third quarter, with both sales and prices relatively flat after a robust second quarter. Indeed, we saw exactly one fewer sale in the third quarter compared to last year, and only 40 more sales for the rolling year. But this sales plateau does not indicate a lack of demand, since prices were up again, rising about 2% on average and at the median for the quarter, and finishing a rolling year up over 4% on average and almost 7% at the median. Meanwhile, inventory is still falling, now down below the six‑month level that usually denotes a seller’s market, which is what is holding sales figures down. Going forward, we expect that sales will only go up when these rising prices tempt more homeowners into the market and that we will continue to see appreciation in pricing through a robust fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Bergen County, NJ

The Bergen County housing market stabilized in the third quarter, with a lack of inventory continuing to stifle growth but pricing showing only mixed results. Sales were up just a tick: Single‑family home sales rose about 1% from last year’s third quarter, and condo sales rose about 2%. For the rolling year, sales in both houses and condos are down slightly, the result of inventory that continues to stick to the four‑to‑five‑month level that’s within seller market territory. But restricted supply coupled with strong demand is having only a mixed impact on pricing: Single‑family home prices were flat for the quarter and are up just a tick for the rolling year, while condos were up sharply for the quarter and now have jumped over 3% on both the average and the median for the year. Going forward, we believe that inventory will continue to stabilize and that prices should continue to go up through the fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Northern New Jersey

The housing market in the Northern New Jersey suburbs of New York City cruised through the third quarter of 2018, with strong demand driving meaningful price appreciation, even while low levels of inventory suppressed sales growth throughout the region.

The regional market continues to suffer from a lack of supply. The number of homes available has settled at levels that generally signal a seller’s market, with fewer than six months of inventory in most of the Northern New Jersey markets. The lack of inventory has been stifling sales growth, since the market lacks “fuel for the fire” to meet the existing buyer demand, even while driving meaningful price appreciation throughout the region.

Because of the lack of inventory, sales were mostly flat. For the region, sales were up just 0.7% in the quarter, and they were mixed in the individual counties: Bergen houses up 1%, Bergen condos up 2%, Hudson down almost 8%, Passaic down a tick, Morris up 3%, Essex up 5%, and Sussex up 2%. That said, sales are now at levels we haven’t seen since the seller’s market of the mid‑2000s, and almost double in many places from the bottom of the market following the correction of 2008‑09.

But these low levels of inventory are also driving meaningful price appreciation. Prices rose about 2% regionally, with dramatic spikes in Hudson 8%, Sussex 8%, and Bergen condos 10%. The other markets were relatively flat or even down slightly (in Morris), but the overall trend is generally positive, with most markets up for the rolling year and the rolling-year regional average price rising over 2%.

We are a little surprised we’re not seeing more meaningful price appreciation throughout the region. Given strong buyer demand responding to a growing economy, reasonably low interest rates, and pricing still at attractive levels (mostly at 2004‑05 levels), we keep expecting some dramatic jumps in pricing. Textbook economics tells us that limited supply coupled with high demand should eventually drive meaningful increases in pricing. But other than Hudson, which is feeding off the Manhattan exile market, the rest of the region is not really appreciating at the level we would expect.

Going forward, we expect the seller’s market to continue. With good economic conditions, low interest rates, and attractive pricing, we expect that the Northern New Jersey market will finish the year strong and drive meaningful price appreciation through 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – The Bronx

With Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty’s recent expansion into the Bronx, we are delighted to present the Rand Quarterly Market Report for Bronx County. We have been providing these quarterly market analyses or almost 15 years for the markets we service, which include Westchester and the Hudson Valley, Northern New Jersey, and now the Bronx. We hope you enjoy the Report, and if you have any questions, please reach out to your Rand Realty agent.

The Bronx housing market surged again in the third quarter of 2018, with both prices rising sharply in a growing seller’s market, even while low levels of inventory held back sales growth. Going forward, we expect that strong demand will continue to drive meaningful price appreciation through the end of the year and into 2019.

Prices were up across the board. The average price rose almost 12% from the third quarter of last year and was relatively balanced: Single‑family homes were up almost 10% on average and 6% at the median; multi‑families were up 11% on average and almost 10% at the median; coops were up 2% on average, but almost 20% at the median; and condos were up over 12% on average and over 3% at the median. Moreover, we’re seeing sustained price appreciation, with the average price rising almost 11% for all property types and up in every market.

But sales were flat overall, and for most property types. For the borough as a whole, sales fell just a tick during the quarter, even while finishing the rolling year up 6%. Most likely, we’re just seeing the impact of restricted inventory holding back sales, with the market lacking enough “fuel for the fire” to satiate demand. We would expect that these rising prices will eventually tempt more sellers into the market, which could help drive sales up.

Inventory continues to fall. We measure inventory by looking at the number of homes available for sale, and the rate at which homes are selling. A balanced market has about six months of inventory, meaning that at the current rate of home sales, it would take six months to sell all the homes currently available. What we’re seeing, though, is a clear sign of a seller’s market, with the months of inventory well below six months for all property types: 5.2% for single‑family homes, 6.0% for multi‑family, 5.3% for coops, and 4.8% for condos. Inventory might be stabilizing, though, something we’ll be watching in the fourth quarter.

Overall, this is exactly what a robust seller’s market looks like. We have high demand and falling inventory driving sales and prices up throughout the borough. Textbook economics tells us that rising prices will eventually attract more sellers into the market, but in the meantime, we can expect that high demand will continue to drive prices up through a strong fourth quarter and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Editor’s Note: This report includes only those sales reported through the Hudson Valley Gateway Multiple Listing Service.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Dutchess County, NY

Pricing in the Dutchess housing market soared again in the third quarter, with prices rising from high demand and limited inventory. Sales were down, just as in the rest of the region, from a lack of supply, not a lack of demand, which you can see from the pricing trends: Single‑family home prices rose almost 7% on average and 12% at the median for the quarter, finishing the rolling year up 7% on average and almost 10% at the median. And we saw the same results in the condo market, with prices leaping up 13% on average and almost 17% at the median. Those types of numbers are not sustainable, but even for the year, Dutchess condo prices are up meaningfully. Going forward, we expect these trends to continue, with stabilizing sales and rising prices through the end of the year and into 2019.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.

Rand Country Blog October 10, 2018

Real Estate Market Report: Third Quarter 2018 – Putnam County, NY

The Putnam housing market absolutely soared through the third quarter of 2018, with dramatic increases in both sales and particularly in pricing. Putnam was the only county in the region to experience sales growth this quarter, with transactions rising 3% for houses and 5% for condos. The real story was price appreciation, with prices up across the board: Houses were up 11% on average, 5% at the median, and 8% in the price‑per‑square‑foot, and condos were up 13% on average and at the median, and almost 20% in the price‑per‑square-foot. For the year, the pricing gains are also very strong: up 8% on average and 7% at the median for houses, and up 10% on average and 16% at the median for condos. Going forward, we believe that Putnam is going to continue to strengthen, although we would expect that blistering price appreciation to cool a bit.

To learn more about Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on TwitterPinterest, and Instagram.