Every month, the New Jersey MLS publishes a report chock-full of data on the real estate market in northern New Jersey. It covers single-family homes, multi-family homes, condos/coops/townhouses, and rentals in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic Counties.

Download NJMLS Housing Market Update for November, 2014

The extensive monthly report includes the following data points:

TD New Listings by County – All Categories

YTD New Listings by County – Residential

YTD New Listings by County – Single Family

2013 vs. 2014 Active Listings by County

Average List Price by County – All Categories

Average List Price – All Counties

Average List Price by County – Residential

Average List Price by County – Single Family

New Residential Rental Listings

YTD New Residential Rental Listings by County

Average Residential Rental List Price

Under Contract – All Categories

YTD Under Contract by County – All Categories

YTD Under Contract by County – Residential

YTD Under Contract by County – Single Family

Under Contract by Price Range – RES

Under Contract by Price Range – Single Family

Absorption Rate (Months Inventory)

Total Units Sold – All Categories

YTD Sold by County – All Categories

YTD Sold by County – Residential

YTD Sold by County – Single Family

Total Residential Units Sold

Units Sold by Price Range – RES

Total Single Family Units Sold

Units Sold by Price Range – Single Family

Average Days on the Market by County – All Categories

Average Days on the Market – All Counties

Median Sold Price – All Categories

Median Sold Price by County – All Categories

YTD Median Sold Price – All Categories

Median Sold Price – Residential

Median Sold Price – Single Family

Total Residential Rental – Units Leased

YTD Residential Rental Median Leased Price by County

Monthly Open House Count

Keybox Showings

NJMLS.com Hits

Download the November, 2014 NJMLS Housing Market Update.

To find past and future reports, bookmark this link: NJMLS Housing Market Updates

The post NJMLS Housing Market Update appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

Ridgewood Real Estate Update 2014 vs 2013

For a quick overview of Ridgewood, real estate stats, watch this 1-minute video. For more info on buying or selling in Ridgewood call Michael Shetler, 201-421-0506 cell or 201-445-4300 x231 office.

Ridgewood Real Estate Median Price Up 1% YTD

The post Ridgewood Real Estate Update 2014 vs 2013 appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

How is the NJ Real Estate Market Doing?

Some local markets in the state seem to be back on the recovery track after a brief pause earlier this year. Nationally, one of the more encouraging aspects of this renewed recovery is that new construction of single-family homes reached six-year highs in August, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Consumers here in New Jersey and across most U.S. states are finding more listings appearing in their search results than they have in years. Inventory is rising in many neighborhoods as higher prices have motivated more sellers to list.

• Single Family Closed Sales decreased 6.2 percent to 806.

• Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales decreased 6.7 percent to 318.

• Adult Communities Closed Sales decreased 16.0 percent to 21.

• Single Family Median Sales Price was down 2.5 percent to $390,000.

• Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price remained flat at $325,000.

• Adult Communities Median Sales Price was up 2.7 percent to $399,240.

The departure of investors from the scene should benefit first-time homebuyers, but student debt and sluggish wage growth has slowed that transition. Minor credit downgrades and worries over Atlantic City employment and gaming revenue weighed on lawmakers as they returned to the State House. That said, the unemployment rate of 6.6 percent isn’t drastically higher than the nation’s 6.1 percent, and several large-scale public works projects could greatly benefit the state.

Download the full report — Monthly NJMLS Real Estate Market Indicators for September, 2014.

source: NJMLS. Info deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The post The NJ Real Estate Market – Is It Still Improving? appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

Just how is the real estate market? Overall, 2013 proved to be a good year for an industry on the road to recovery.

At a Keller Williams conference this February, Gary Keller, Jay Papasan and members of the KW Research Team ran through the numbers that drive the U.S. and Canadian real estate markets, as well as the economic impact of the previous year with a focus on sales, price, mortgage rates and inventory –  key indicators Keller believes are essential for interpreting the data in a meaningful way.

Their findings revealed several things, starting with the news that prices are on the upswing. The annual pace of home sales outperformed 2012 numbers for every month this year until December, and was the best year for homes sales since 2006. The last time the market performed like this was 2003. “This is the fifth best sales year in the history of sales,” said Keller.

The median home price at the end of 2013 was $197,100, up 11.5 percent from the previous year. In order to understand that number in a relevant way, Keller turned to annual home prices, which he said “gives us total the perspective.” Though home prices have been increasing year-over-year for 17 consecutive months, that number still sits below the long-term 4 percent trend line.

Translation? There’s still room to recover.

Mortgage rates continued to hover around 4 percent, which was up 30 basis points from 2012. Keller wasn’t shy about predicting a future rise in rates. “Don’t be surprised if you see rates go up to 7 percent in the next three to four years,” he said. “Let’s put it into perspective. I got into real estate during the highest interest rates ever. We were asking people to agree to 14 points on their mortgage and people still bought. Every market has their pros and cons, so don’t ever get locked into ‘is it a good time?’”

It’s always a good time to buy, especially when you look at affordability – one of Keller’s favorite stats. “No other market is more affordable right now than real estate,” he said. He easily illustrated the point with a simple comparison. “The cost of a home is over double what it was in 1989, yet the monthly payment is only up $116! Compare that to the increase in the price of gas, bread and a new car and it’s pretty amazing.” The challenge is helping people understand that he continued.

New listings for sale in Glen Rock NJ

The post Real Estate is the Most Affordable Market appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

The Market Update published by the New Jersey MLS (NJMLS) for December, 2013 shows the number of single family homes on the market is down 20% from a year earlier. The area covered by NJMLS includes Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic Counties. Inventory of condos and townhouses is down even more at -27%.

Other telling statistics show that the volume of sales across all categories was up 20.7%, the median sold price was up 6.9% and the average residential rental price was up 1%. Download the entire report.

source: NJMLS. Info deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The post Inventory Across Northern NJ Down 20% appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

Download the complete report — Market Update November 2013

The post Monthly Report for November 2013 appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

Year to date, the number of homes sold in Bergen County is up 18% over last year. The number of days it took to sell is down 14% to 82 days. And the average sold price is up 5%, according to data from the New Jersey MLS.

The recovery from the recession is well underway, especially for areas in northwest Bergen County. In the 13 towns from Glen Rock to Mahwah to Oakland, average sold prices are up 9%. The number of homes sold was up less dramatically at +13% because the inventory of homes on the market is in short supply.

In fact, Glen Rock may finish the year with the lowest inventory in the state, measured in months of supply. With the spring market expected to start in mid-January, buyers are likely to find themselves aggressively competing for homes.

With interest rates expected to rise through 2014, buyers will be weighing the cost of paying more for a home in a bidding war against paying their lender more in interest for the next 30 years.

For more information about the changing market in Bergen County, call Michael Shetler at 201-421-0506.

The post 18% Increase In Bergen Home Sales appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.