Here is a real estate market update report for you now that we’re through July:
Fewer sales are happening in 2014 but not because demand is weakening. Far from it. Demand is strong but supply is down. This is reflected in fewer days on the market. Less supply – increased and/or equal demand = pressure on pricing. This is good news for sellers but it’s still not a full tilt in the homeowner’s favor.
Interest rates have been pushing upward a bit but remain well under 5%. As we close in on the end of the summer selling season, it’s clear that what’s holding us back is simply a lack of inventory.
Distressed properties are becoming less and less. While they still come on the market, the pace is much slower than what we saw a few years ago when 15% of the homes for sale were either foreclosures or short sales (pre-foreclosures). While it’s really tough to be precise on this, I can tell you that we are well below 10% of the available inventory. Closer to 5% seems a good guess.
So far in 2014 we see prices going up albeit very moderately and continued strengthening of consumer demand for Bergen County homes. I will be doing real estate market update reports from time to time. If there is a particular town or area you’d like, just let me know.
