First Half of 2015 Shows Strong Housing Market Activity In New Jersey

On Aug 6, 2015

With the first two quarters of the year behind us, New Jersey’s housing market health in 2015 is shaping up to be very strong, according to a report by New Jersey Realtors. The spring proved to be a fruitful time, again, as it traditionally is. And, with a large number of pending sales in the pipeline, the summer should continue on that trend as well.

In June 2015, when looking at the housing market as a whole, there were 9,944 closed sales, a 16.4 percent increase over the same time last year. Similarly, pending sales were up a very strong 21.6 percent to 10,050 units. The months’ supply of inventory in June sat at 8.5 months, which is a sign of a balanced market, despite having a drop of 16.7 percent from June 2014. The total number of homes for sale dropped 6.5 percent to 65,838, but on the flip side, new listings were up 8 percent to 17,098 for the month.

As far as pricing goes, the median sales price rose a modest 1.7 percent over June 2014 to $305,000. This is good news for buyers and sellers because the affordability index rose 4.5 percent to 139. This means that the average buyer has 139 percent of the income needed to purchase a home in New Jersey. From a seller’s perspective, there’s even more good news, too. The number of days on market is 77, a 1.3 percent drop from last year, and the percent of list price received at closing rose slightly to 96.8 percent.

“The spring selling season was strong again in 2015, but unlike in past years, it’s not a traditional buyers’ or sellers’ market,” said Jarrod C. Grasso, chief executive officer of New Jersey Realtors. “Instead, it’s a balanced market where homes are still affordable for buyers, but sellers are also seeing an uptick in pricing, so more homes are coming on the market.”

Here are some of the highlights in the single-family home market for the entire state, when compared to June 2014:

• New listings: 12,350 (up 7.8 percent)
• Pending sales: 7,046 (up 22.4 percent)
•  Closed sales: 6,881 (up 15.7 percent)
• Median sales price: $335,000 (up 2.4 percent)
• Days on market: 77 (down 1.3 percent)
• Affordability index: 126 (up 3.3 percent)

Here are some of the highlights in the townhouse/condo market for the entire state, when compared to last June:

• New listings: 3,431 (up 8.1 percent)
•  Pending sales: 2,079 (up 20 percent)
• Closed sales: 2,207 (up 21.5 percent)
• Median sales price: $258,000 (down 0.8 percent)
• Days on market: 78 (up 4 percent)
• Affordability index: 164 (up 7.2 percent)

Here are some of the highlights in the adult community market for the entire state, when compared to last June:

• New listings: 935 (up 7.2 percent)
• Pending sales: 694 (up 10.5 percent)
• Closed sales: 688 (up 6.7 percent)
• Median sales price: $175,000 (up 4.8 percent)
•  Days on market: 70 (down 4.1 percent)
• Affordability index: 242 (up 1.7 percent)

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