You won’t find tremendous differences when you compare 2009 to 2010 residential sales. Let’s take a look at what the facts show us.
The difference between 2009 and 2010 wasn’t much county wide. According to the New Jersey MLS there were only 58 fewer units. We had 7,315 in 2009 and 7,257 in 2010. The average sales price didn’t move much either. It rose by only 2% in 2010 to $500,710. This is very positive because what we don’t need are wild variations from instability. 2010 turned out to be a solid year for Bergen County’s housing market.
The truth is that real estate here pretty much stabilized. As we begin 2011 the residential sales market is poised to move forward. Let’s check out a few towns to see how we’re doing on a local level:
Tenafly did very well. Sales units in Tenafly were down by 8% but the average sold price rose 4%. Teaneck also turned in a strong performance – units were down 14% and average sales prices were up 8%. On paper Dumont didn’t do as well with 6% less sales and a 6% drop in the average sales price but a good number of short sales were to blame. Cresskill has a large inventory of luxury homes so I kept it to $1 million sales. Through $1 million, Cresskill had 19% fewer units at only 1% less in the average sales price.
Bergen County beat the “prevailing wisdom” because of our proximity to Manhattan, excellent schools, good commuting and diverse economy. While Wall Street and the financial markets do employ many of us, there’s more to the Bergen County job picture than stocks, bonds and trades.
We have 4 major hospital centers in Englewood, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Teaneck. These medical centers employ large staffs of doctors, nurses and all sorts of support systems. We also have many Fortune 500 corporations employing thousands too. Major corporate parks for these companies are found in Englewood Cliffs, Montvale and Park Ridge. Bergen County is the most populous county in New Jersey and one of the largest in the US with over 900,000 residents.
With all these advantages, it’s no wonder that things are better here.
