More importantly, the positive news is that homes that are selling are experiencing 3 year lows when looking at the Average Days on Market (DOM).  So the demand remains, however there are just a few more sellers out there today, probably sellers seeing positive trends that want to jump on the gravy train.  Get in line, or price your home realistically.

There was a big sale in April north of $3 million that pushed April’s median sales price to over $1 million.  The median average for the year during the first quarter of 2011 was $623,166.  During Q1 of 2010, the median average was $608,333.  All demand incidicators are up in 2011 in comparison to 2010.  Only supply is higher and higher priced homes will have to adjust to compete.  But clearly, there are real estate buyers in Ridgewood.

Let’s look at the statistic chart and data analysis, then discuss.

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To download the full statistic and data sheet including graphs and trends, CLICK HERE

Oops, running late to a meeting so I’ll try to wrap this up later.  Finally…if you are looking to buy or sell a home in Ridegwood, NJ we would value an opportunity to interview for the job of representing you.  You will notice our focus on strategy, knowledge, and effectiveness.  Call us at 877-688-7582 or e-mail us here.  We at New Jersey Real Estate Guys look forward to hearing from you.

Franklin Lakes

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• 777 Aspen Way:  2 Bed 1 Bath Original asking price $599,000.  Sold for $430,000.  72% of Asking Price achieved.  On the market for 124 days.  Cash Purchase.
• 752 Lawlins Rd:  3 Bed 2 Bath.  Original asking price $649,000.  Sold for $628,000.  96.7% of Asking Price achieved.  On market for 42 days.  Conventional financed.
• 764 Aspen Way:  4 Bed 2 Bath.  Original asking price $729,000.  Sold for $635,000.  87% of Asking price achieved.  On market for 143 days.  Conventional Financed.
• 618 Dakota Trail:  4 Bed 3.5 Bath.  Original asking price $890,000.  Sold for $875,000.  98% of Asking Price achieved.  On market 38 days.  Conventional Financed.
• 901 Pinecroft Ct:  4 Bed 3.5 Bath.  Original asking price $1,135,000.  Sold for $932,500.  82% of Asking Price achieved.  On market 148 days.  Cash Purchase.

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It would be interesting to get your thoughts in our comment section.  A couple of things we notice that stick out:

• 2010 Sales Volume has surpassed 2009.  In 2009, 74 homes sold in total.  Year to date so far Franklin Lakes has sold 89 homes, up 17% since 2009 and up over 25% since 2008.  The fact that prices are way down since peak combined with the pristine appeal that Franklin Lakes offers, we expect sales to ramp up in the next few months.
• The only thing that will hinder stability is the “shadow inventory” in New Jersey.  It is expected that NJ has one of the highest amounts of shadow inventory in the nation.  Nobody knows exactly how much is in each area.  Franklin Lakes may have none, we won’t know for a bit.
• The rate of absorption is calculated by taking the amount of home sales during the previous month and dividing it by the number of homes for sale.  This would indicate the amount of months it would take to sell out of all homes for sale at the current rate of sales assuming no other homes came on the market.  Indicative of November sales, Franklin Lakes new rate of absorption is 19.6 months, well over the 9 month national average.
• The least expensive homes seem to be selling a lot to real estate investors indicated by a Cash Purchase.  As a real estate investor, renovating homes and flipping is very attractive in many NJ luxury markets.
• In the last 3 years, according to the NJMLS, Franklin Lakes monthly sales volume has not surpassed 12 sales.  Only 4 months out of the last 36 months has Franklin Lakes seen a 12 sale month.
• The annual median sales price for the last 3 years, was $1,097,500 in 2008, followed by $922,500 in 2009, and $891,000 year to date 2010.  That is a 19.5% drop in the median with most of the significant drop coming between 2008-2009.
• We expect the average price to drop a little bit more until 2011 Spring.  At that point, we feel sales volume will pick up quite a bit.  Bargain buyers are out in full effect these days as sellers recognize that Winter is typically slow, adjusting their asking prices more aggressively.

CLICK HERE to preview a full 2008-2010 report.  Monthly and annual figures included along with performance charts.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Franklin Lakes, NJ, we would value an opportunity to offer any suggestions or work with you on a decision to put you in an advantageous position in the market.  For a free phone or personal consultation, please call Scott @ 877-688-7582 or e-mail me here.  Be sure to browse all homes for sale in the right column of our website where we offer a free MLS/ IDX search for you!  We are the gurus of Franklin Lakes NJ Real Estate.

Here is a hint for you home shoppers out there.  If you are looking to purchase a nice colonial, big yard, and is updated, you are going to be in the $400 – $450 per square foot price.  If you are looking at an older home that is not updated, you are going to be in the high $200′s to lower $300 per square foot range.  If you submit an offer that is out of whack with those numbers, you are rolling the dice on acceptance.

November outperformed September and October in regards to sales volume.  We gather all of our information from the NJMLS and according to the data, there are only 115 homes for sale in Ridgewood.

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Click on Charts below to enlarge.

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Indicative of these charts, it shows that Ridgewood real estate is performing better than almost all of the micro-markets in New Jersey.  I always like to look at the Price Per Square Foot.  The PPSF best indicates the status of the market and as you can see in the charts, this statistic is improving and remaining stable, a great sign for Ridgewood homes.

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home in Ridgewood, we here at NJ Real Estate Guys would value an opportunity to share our thoughts with you so we can assist in planning the best strategy for your purchase or sale.  As shown, we perform an extensive market report on our expertise areas and we feel we can make your decision to buy or sell a more streamline process.

Call Scott at 877.688.7582 or e-mail us here.

Ridgewood NJ real estate has maintained its fight through the recession.  The housing market has been anything but disappointing.  Just some quick facts:

• Ridgewood NJ median home values are about 13.6% higher in 2010 as they were in 2009.
• Ridgewood NJ average sales price is up 5.2% in 2010 versus 2009.
  
• Total Sales Volume in 2009 was 194.  Currently with 2 full months left, 215 homes have sold in Ridgewood this year.

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The most glaring positive that we see is the Rate of Absorption.  A healthy market is characterized as having 6 months or less of inventory.  We calculate the rate of absorption by taking the number of available homes for sale and dividing by homes placed under contract the previous month.  This indicates the amount of time it would take for a local market to sell out of homes at the current rate of accepted contracts if no other homes came on the market.

To see a full report of MoM and YoY statistics and charts, CLICK HERE

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Ridgewood, make sure to use New Jersey Real Estate Guys who provide expertise in macro analysis and real time market trends that will help you decide your most favorable decision going forward.  Give us a call for a free consultation and stay one step ahead of the market with us.  Call Scott Allan at 877-688-7582 or e-mail here.

To show the difference in change, from January 2009 to January 2010, the average price per square foot of a home sold in Ridgewood dropped from $324 to $308, a drop of 5%.  Let’s put that into perspective.  If you bought a 4,000 square foot home in Ridgewood, you were paying an average of $1,296,000 in January 2009.  In January of 2010, a 4,000 square foot home sold at an average of $1,232,000, a difference of $64,000.

Here are some Year Over Year numbers for September 2010.  Be sure to see the link below to see the entire 2 year Ridgewood housing market analysis.

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Typically, a healthy real estate local market has 6 months or less of inventory based off the previous month’s activity.  The rate of absorption is calculated by taking the total number of homes for sale and dividing it by the new contracts accepted in the previous month.  Indicative of these numbers, Ridgewood has about 5.3 months of inventory at the current rate of contracts.  This is a very good sign, obviously beating the 6 month mark by a quarter.

Helpful Hint: Median is the exact middle number that exists in a set of chronological (smallest to largest) data.  Average is the set of data added together divided by the number of data that you have.  A lot of realtors like to use the median to determine the average value of a home.

If you are interested in checking out our graphs, charts and Year Over Year numbers CLICK HERE

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Ridgewood, you have come to the right place.  We would value an opportunity to interview for the job of assisting you.  Feel free to call Scott Allan at 877-688-7582 or e-mail us.

Ridgewood NJ real estate

The 2009 average trading price in Ridgewood was $741,854.  So far this year in 2010, the average home is trading at $794,559, an increase of nearly 6.7%.  In our analysis, there are more homes priced aggressively in Ridgewood than any other town surrounding it, resulting in July sales having an average “Days on Market” 39 days and August which had 49 days average time on the market.  We calculate our “aggressive asking price” by charting the amount of homes priced within 15% of current trading averages.  We only recognize homes under $1 million for “aggressive prices” as numbers are too skewed with anything higher.

Check out the charts and graphs that we provide below and let us know your thoughts on Ridgewood’s housing market.  Although September sales volume dipped from August, we expect October’s sales to be higher, balancing out the average.  Also, 2010 is going to shatter the 2009 Total Home sales.  In 2009, there were 194 home sales in Ridgewood.  Year to date in 2010, there have been 185 sales.  This is all positive news for Ridgewood.

To preview a full analysis of year over year and month over month figures for Ridgewood, CLICK HERE

To view charts in larger form, click on them to enlarge.

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FYI, when discussing Absorption Rate, a healthy market typically has 6 months or less of available inventory.  It is essentially the amount of times the market would take to sell out of homes at the pace of the previous months’ activity.  The Rate of Absorption is calculated by taking the number of available homes on the market and divide that by homes placed under contract the previous month.  So for explanation purposes, 136 / 26 = 5.23 Months

The charts above clearly show a significant increase in the average sales prices of homes.  Ridgewood is a popular town for finance professionals, among other upper income demographic.  With Wall Street bonuses expected to be strong this year, we expect Ridgewood to show consistent numbers until Spring 2011.  Sales volume will likely start spiking again by April and May where we may see an increase in medians and averages.

Based on our analysis, we feel that it is a great time to begin your search for homes while taking advantage of historical low price per square foot figures as well as low mortgage rates.  Sellers can take advantage of the numerous buyers looking to buy their home.  We are getting a lot of calls for Ridgewood indicating that there are certainly a lot of buyers out there looking.  The charts and graphs speak volumes for the attention.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Ridgewood, rely on the experts at New Jersey Real Estate Guys.  We would value an opportunity to showcase our top notch marketing approach and knowledge of the market which plays a very important part in negotiating the best deal for you buyers.  You can call us at 877.688.7582 or e-mail us by using the Contact button in the upper part of our web page.

• 75 Daniel Ave:  Colonial home.  Last list price $335,000.  Sold for $285,000.
• 14 Monona Ave:  Colonial Home.  Last list price $350,000.  Sold for $316,000
• 207 E. Pierrepont Ave:  Colonial Home.  Last list price $335,000.  Sold for $326,000
• 38 Donaldson Ave:  Colonial Home.  Last list price $399,000.  Sold for $370,000
• 46 Sylvan St:  Colonial Home.  Last list price $519,000.  Sold for $500,000
• 233 Ridge Rd:  Colonial Home.  Last list price $700,000.  Sold for $662,500.

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A healthy market is typically characterized as one with around 6 months of inventory.  Rutherford is at 10 months.  Indicative above in the home sales in August, there is clearly some bargaining power in homes in Rutherford.  If sellers are looking to sell their homes, an aggressive price will get it done.  As in any market, right now is a favorable time to “trade up”.  Even if you take a loss on your current home, that is tax deductable.  Additionally, your new home will bring you longer term benefits, in addition to the lowest mortgage rates we will likely ever see.

For a full month over month and year over year spreadsheet on Rutherford sales volume, absorption, and inventory, Click Here

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Rutherford, you can count on the New Jersey Real Estate Guys to provide you with up to date suggestions for marketing and strategizing appropriately.  You can call us at 877.688.7582 or e-mail us using the CONTACT button at the top of the website page.  We would value an opportunity to interview for the job of representing you in this challenging housing market.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Franklin Lakes, NJ, we would value an opportunity to discuss the local market and evaluate your position to assure that we get you the right deal.  Let’s look at some Franklin Lakes numbers.  Before we do so, if you are interested in browsing some homes for sale in Franklin Lakes, NJ, see below:

Franklin Lakes Homes for sale Under $750,000

All Homes for sale in Franklin Lakes NJ

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Indicative of this chart, the rate of absorption at 17 months is a considerable amount of inventory.  Sellers will have to price aggressively to sell, but as in most areas we cover, if the seller is willing to do so, homes are selling within 60-90 days.  If you would like a Comparative Market Analysis where we can give you a ballpark valuation of your home, let us know.  At the very least, you can see if it is even an option to sell your home.

To preview a full month over month and year over year analysis dating back to 2008, CLICK HERE

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Franklin Lakes, we would value an opportunity to sit down with you and discuss some options and offer our suggestions.  Feel free to call us at 877.688.7582 or e-mail us.

For all of our past reports and Franklin Lakes archives, CLICK HERE

For those of you that are aware, the ARC Program is underway deep under the Hudson River.  The ARC Program is a project set for completion in about 8 years that will include construction of an additional rail tunnel to Midtown Manhattan where residents in suburban NJ will be able to take the rail DIRECT into the city.  No more connections.  Historically, when a direct rail line is constructed in an area, it increases home prices by as much as 10%.  CLICK HERE to read all about the ARC Program and the effect on real estate.

In regards to the housing sector, Lyndhurst has always been a small market.  There are only 40-50 homes for sale at a time typically and home sales have not even reached double digits per month dating all the way back to January 2009.  That said, the rate of absorption is good and is below the national average, a good thing.  So let’s look at some figures for the month of July.  In July homes that sold averaged 86 Days on the Market.

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Click Charts to Enlarge

As indicated in these charts, monthly absorption remains pretty consistent with the norm, but prices have progressively increased since January of this year.  Although the increase isn’t anything to brag about, the average price of a home sold in Lyndhurst has increased by about $30,000.

The Rate of Absorption indicates how long it would take to sell the entire inventory of homes for sale based on the previous month of home sales.  So being that there are 40 homes for sale, and in July 2010, there were a total of 8 sales, you take inventory divided by sales, and you come up with 5 Months.  This is considered healthy and is below the national average, a good thing.

If you are in the market looking to buy or sell in Lyndhurst, we welcome you to give us a call so we can help assist in your real estate needs.  We know all about all Lyndhurst NJ homes for sale.  We know the market very well and can give you good insight on the specific local market and those surrounding it.  You can call us at 877-688-7582 or e-mail us here.  We look forward to hearing from you.

AUGUST 2010 Report

Rutherford, NJ JULY 2010 Real Estate Report

What a normal, boring month for Rutherford.  Sales have not reached double digits even once this year on a monthly basis.  Are homebuyers favoring Lyndhurst right now?  Doubtful, I don’t think anything along the lines of preference changed.  The expiration of the Homebuyer Tax Credit had a bit to play in the sluggish month, although as mentioned, this is kind of the norm for Rutherford.  Not entirely a bad thing.

I was with a client last week showing a house on Feronia Way and they said the same thing a friend of mine in Rutherford says.  Rutherford has one of the most convenient transit systems and has an overwhelming “at home” feeling than the surrounding areas.  Additionally, the school system has achieved higher recognition which always is a great selling point.

Has everyone heard about the ARC Program?  This will definately help home values in the area including Rutherford.  Instead of me blabbing about ARC working with Port Authority to build an additional tunnel into Manhattan giving the Main and Bergen Line DIRECT access into Manhattan with no Secaucus/Hoboken connection, CLICK HERE.  Ooops…I think I just gave it away.

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To preview the y/o/y and m/o/m charts and official New Jersey Real Estate Guys statistics for Rutherford, CLICK HERE.  This will show you 2009-2010 figures.

As always, if you are looking to buy or sell a home in Rutherford, New Jersey Real Estate Guys would value an opportunity to work with you and give you our opinions on the local market to assist in your buying / selling needs.  Feel free to call us at 877.688.7582.

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Another area in the suburbs we like is Rutherford, NJ, a quiet and peaceful place for you and your family and only minutes to NYC and the other metro areas of Northern NJ. For you partiers out there, Rutherford is a B.Y.O.B town with plenty of great restaurants and landscape to enjoy. Armed with a great school system, real estate taxes are less than Montclair at least with just as much convenience.

One very big asset for Rutherford is its direct public transportation system into Manhattan which takes about 15 minutes from door to door via NJ Transit. Historically, Rutherford has a quiet real estate market with limited availability, thus, fewer monthly sales than other markets with more inventory. That being said, recognizing the low inventory, sales are not reaching the level they need to in order to drive down inventory.

To view all homes for sale in Rutherford CLICK HERE. Be sure to fill in your desired criteria using our customized search tool. Contact us at 877-688-7582 to set up a showing appointment or follow the showing instructions on each individual listing in your search.

Prices are down about 18% since its peak have average sales prices have slid since the start of 2010. During the second half of 2009, the average price of a home sold in Rutherford bounced around $425,000. Since February 2010, the average price of a home sold in Rutherford is bouncing around $375,000. Currently there is a home under contract for $1,250,000 that should drive up the average sales price in July or August, but we anticipate that the average will set below $400,000 throughout 2010 until inventory is absorbed at a faster pace. Let’s look at the most recent month of June.

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Rate of Absorption: An absorption rate indicates the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales. Based on the figures above, the absorption rate remains high in Rutherford. Hopefully the 18 homes under contract close in July to lower the rate of absorption. Sellers being pressured with lowering prices will likely conceed a little more to buyers if they are motivated.

To check out a full statistic report on Rutherford real estate CLICK HERE. This report will show month over month and year over year comparisons of sales volume and average selling prices.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Rutherford, we would value an opportunity to meet and discuss your options. We can provide you the due diligence to assist in your decision in the housing market. You can e-mail us or call me direct at 877.688.7582