Essex, NJ Suburbs

Montclair NJ Real Estate Report

June 2010 Review | Montclair NJ Real Estate Report

CLICK HERE to view all homes for sale in Montclair and set an appointment with NJREG for a free consultation.

As a local Montclairian myself, I must say that I am pleased with how the housing market performed in June.  Sales volume was way up.  The average price of a home sold slid for the second straight month, although the month of April had a couple of high sales that sort of skewed those figures from the norm.

It looks like the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit helped the market a little more than expected.  We’ll see over the course of the summer how things pan out.

Home prices declined 1 percent in the New York metropolitan area, which include Montclair, from April 2009 to April 2010, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index reported Tuesday. Prices in the region are back to the levels of April 2004, and are 21.7 percent below their peaks in June 2006.

June:

Active Inventory for sale	188
Total June Sales	50
Average Sales Price in June	$589,900
Homes currently Under Contract	76
Rate of Absorption	3.76 Months

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See housing market charts below.  Click on charts to enlarge.  For complete statistics for year over year and month over month activity CLICK HERE

Indicative of these charts, sales activity is very strong.  If you are looking to sell your home or would like a free analysis on your value, we would value an opportunity to meet with you.  If you are looking to buy a home, Montclair offers a wide range of unique homes.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to buy low in conjunction with low mortgage rates.  Start looking for the house that is perfect for you.

You can call us direct at 877-688-7582 or send us an e-mail.  We look forward to hearing from you!

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May 2010 Montclair NJ Real Estate Report

CLICK HERE to view all homes for sale in Montclair

As a homegrown Montclairian myself, I always like to analyze the market.  I’ve lived off of Valley Rd and also spent 2 years in prestigious Upper Montclair’s Blanton Hall dorms of Montlair State University …Montclair posted far more sales volume in May than it did all previous months of 2010, a great sign.  Prices dropped from April sales figures but Montclair seems to be bouncing around trying to find a true bottom.  Let’s look at the numbers provided by Garden State MLS reference.  Data provided is for single family homes only.

On a side note, prices are slightly up in 2010 from 2009 regarding average sales price and volume.  We are 4 homes sold ahead of 2009 at the current pace.  The average sales price for the entire 2009 year was $671,880.  To date, the average sales price for a home in Montclair in 2010 has ben $679,543, an entire 1.2% higher!  Nothing crazy, but at least its not a negative!

We are expecting sales volume to pick up steam during the summer months.  If you look at the sales volume chart below, 2008 and 2009 showed dramatic increases in sales volume during the warmer months.  Although there are many reasons as to why this is, most people say that families want to be settled prior to the start of the new school year.  Montclair is the home to blue ribbon school systems which is a very big draw for the area.  See school info in Montclair.

Contact New Jersey Real Estate Guys to interview us for the job of buying or selling your home.

May 2010

Homes Sold: 30 (+22.70% since April)

Average Sales Price: $608,418 (+12.0% since April)

Average Days on Market: 60

Available Homes for sale: 186 – The median price of homes listed is $549,000, a more appropriate figure than using the average when analyzing housing markets.

Rate of Absorption: 6.2 Months.  Montclair is sitting right about at the national average of 6 months of Rate of Absorption.  As a reference, speculative builders typically look for the absorption rate to hit 4 months or less before taking on any decent sized projects.

Property Taxes: Using the median asking price of $549,000, property taxes are showing about $15,000 a year, however those homes listed have an assessed value of $615,000.  Based on new homeowner purchase, the new homeowner may want to consider a tax appeal with the Tax Assessors office.  Achieving an assessed value for $549,000 would lower your property taxes by nearly $2,000 per year.  If you are looking to file a tax appeal using a professional real estate tax attorney, start here.  If you want to take the task on yourself, the filing fee is $49.95 and you can download the A-1 form here.  Or call the Essex County Board of Taxation at 973.395.8525.

Under Contract: There are currently 85 homes under contract and beyond attorney review in Montclair.  Typically the contract to closing times run 60 days on average, however with some homes being sold as a short sale, lenders will make it difficult to maintain this average on short sale homes.  The average listed price of homes under contract is $665,611.  Due to exact sales prices not disclosed until closing, we will see how final sales shake out in some of our other summer reports of Montclair NJ Real Estate.

Here are some year over year and month over month charts for your review.  Click on charts to enlarge.  To view our month over month and year over year charting statistics for Montclair, CLICK HERE

If you are looking for a home in Montclair or looking for area information, please call New Jersey Real Estate Guys at 877-688-7582.  We offer free home buying seminars and consultations for the Montclair area.  As we consistently show, we do more real estate analysis than anyone and are confident we can put you in a great position to buy or sell most efficiently.  We would value an opportunity to meet and discuss.

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April 2010 Montclair NJ Real Estate Report | Inventory, Sales Volume, Absorption

Ok, Montclair.  You did a little better than last month but not by much!  There were 19 sales this month as opposed to 14 in March.   Let’s look at some numbers.

April Details provided by reference to Garden State MLS.

Single Family Homes Sold: 19 (+26.50%) since last month

Average Sales Price: $689,595  (+14.6%) since last month

Average Days on Market: 67

Current Inventory for Sale: 186

Rate of Absorption 9.78 Months  Note:  Builders typically wait until rate of absorption hits 4                      months before taking on speculative construction projects.

If you are looking for a home in Montclair or looking for area information, please call New Jersey Real Estate Guys at 877-688-7582.  We offer free home buying seminars and consultations for the Montclair area.

March 2010 Montclair, NJ Real Estate Report

So there is some good news and bad news for Montclair.  The good news is that March sales volume more than doubled February.  The bad news is that it is still performing far worse than the end of the year of 2009 when we had some solid numbers.  Retail vacancies are climbing and rental rates are dropping, something we expected.

During the month of March, 2010 there were 14 sales of single family homes in Montclair. The average selling price was $589,142, a clear indication that the lower priced homes (entry level) are selling much quicker.  The average current listed price of homes for sale in Montclair is $923,414.

Let’s compare Q1 of 2009 and 2010 respectively:

2009 Q1:  29 Homes sold with an average selling price of $678,109.

2010 Q1:  39 Homes sold with an average selling price of $669,692.

Using March sales volume and the current level of inventory, Montclair has a Rate of Absorption of just over 8 months, up from 3.38 months in January.

The next few months will be interesting.  Using the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and the Government purchases of MBS as a crutch, our housing market will have to stand on its own so we can see the real results of the housing market.

Expect some minor home price drops over the next few months while the housing market searches for its true identity.  June and July will be very telling months.

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February 2010 Round Up – Montclair NJ Home Sales / Inventory / News

So January started out a bit slow.  I always blame slow January’s on the ever-changing bank guidelines that always come out in fury at the beginning of the year.  Let’s not use that as an excuse though.  I still predict that the second half of 2010 will be quite indicative of a possibly soon recovery.  You have the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit expiring in June, the Fed is going to stop purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities (MBA’s), and Consumer Confidence could sink when they turn on CNN.

Anyway, this is all hearsay.  I am an advocate of letting the market play it out itself.  February was VERRRRY slow for single family home sales in Montclair.

Let’s start with Inventory Levels.  As of March 1, 2010, there are 95 Single Family Homes for sale in Montclair with an average listed price of $990,214.

During the month of February, only 7 homes sold in Montclair. The average price of a home sold was $733,414.  Indicative of changing bank guidelines is the lack of closings during February despite 35 homes currently in contract or Attorney Review at the moment.  So despite a slow sales volume month, there are a few dozen homes written up, which is positive.

Absorption Rate:  An absorption rate indicates the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales. As of March 1, there are 95 Single Family Homes for sale.  February showed only 7 closings which mathematically puts Montclair’s rate of absorption at 13.6 Months, the worst its been in a long time.  Typical absorption rates in Montclair is between 3-5 months.  Using home sales volume over the last 9 months, I would say that we can chalk February up to just a bad month.  Nothing too concerning here unless this absorption rate repeats itself in March and April.

So, could the expiration of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit have the same outcome as the expiration of Cash For Clunkers?  If you remember, once Cash For Clunkers expired, car salesmen were sitting in their office playing tiddlywinks.  Things slowed drastically.  Let’s hope that real estate is different than the auto industry, but time will only tell.  The second half of the year will be interesting for sure.

That said, there are still great deals out there.  If you fall in love with a house, don’t hesitate to look into possibly bidding on it.  Good homes at the right price are still selling quickly.  If the home you love is a good deal, make a play for it before someone else does.

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January 2010 Real Estate Recap | Sales | Absorption

Well, chalk up one in the books as January is over with.  A strong December in Montclair was followed by a modest January.  We expected sales to dip a little in January with the new year and the fact that banks implement a new set of guidelines.  Typically it takes about 45 days to return to normal market conditions.  The absorption rate for Montclair fell from 3.38 Months in December 2009 to almost 4.9 in January 2010.  The current rate of absorption is not worrisome as Montclair is below the national average again….signs of a recovering housing market.

During the month of January, 17 homes sold with an average sales price of $737,941.  The average home sold had been on the market for an average of 82 days.  This is a tremendous improvement from 1 year ago.  In January 2009, only 8 homes sold and the average price was $634,263.  The recent January in 2010 showed almost a 100% improvement in sales activity and a close 15% increase in average selling price.

I am currently at the airport as I type this, but tomorrow I will update this report with charts and graphs to give you a better feel for the market.  Till then, take it easy!

Annual Recap | Real Estate Report

Happy New Year, Montclair!! After a rather interesting year, I think the real estate market deserves a “State of the Market Report”. In this report, we will look at last months statistics, overall yearly results, and comparisons to 2008. Some of you may want to sit down before reading, but all in all, we currently see a great opportunity in one of NJ’s best bedroom communities with immediate access to New York City. Can’t beat today’s value in Montclair.  Be sure to browse all Montclair NJ Homes for sale via our exclusive MLS / IDX system.

Without further ado, here goes! All information is comprised from the Garden State MLS.

2008

• 341 Homes Sold During 2008
• Average Sales Price: $740,717

2009

• 307 Homes Sold During 2009
• Average Sales Price: $591,192

Based off of 2008 – 2009 sales activity, there was a 10% drop in sales in 2009. Overall prices are down 21% in Montclair, NJ in 2009 when compared to 2008.

Charts below will show 2008-2009 activity.  Click to enlarge

• In December, 2008 a total of 21 homes sold in Montclair with an average sales price of $627,416.
• In December, 2009, a total of 34 homes sold in Montclair with an average sales price of $538,800.

Absorption Rate:  An absorption rate indicates the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales. As of January 1, 2010, there are 115 Homes for sale in Montclair.  During December 2009, there were 34 homes that sold.  The rate of absorption in Montclair today is 3.38 Months.  A year ago today, the absorption rate of Montclair was over 6 months.

As the charts above indicate, prices have plummeted from peak values.  Sales activity is up and prices are beginning to stabilize.  Assuming Montclair experiences any further downward value adjustments, the tradeoff would be the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and Low Mortgage Rates as we do not anticipate any further drastic price adjustments.  The combination of the 2 should negate the Catch 22 affect, thus creates an opportunistic time to buy real estate in Montclair.

A previous report written by us in February 2009 pointed to bargain homes in Montclair listed at under $400,000.  We mentioned the state of the market as a reason why you were seeing great deals in Montclair.   Today, those homes are long gone and the only homes listed in this area for under $400,000 are far more inferior than the ones we referred to.

Taking into consideration the convenience to New York City, infamous downtown district, expansions of Montclair State University, and beautiful Upper Montclair section of the Township, we anticipate that prices stagnate over the course of 2010.  We have seen a healthy improvement in affordability which is the reason for increased sales. With a more affordable market within the NYC metro area, we expect prices to stagnate during 2010 and begin historical appreciation trends in Q1 2011. That said, our prediction is that Montclair provides a very good opportunity to buy as it seems the market is tinkering with the bottom of the housing market.  Watch Q3 of 2010 as the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit should expire.  Lower real estate prices will predominantly be the driving force behind the Montclair housing market.  With unemployment expected to peak and smoke beginning to dissipate in the recession, our crystal ball should be pretty close!

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Montclair, look no further than NJ Real Estate Guys.  Scott Allan, founder, is from Montclair and takes great pride in the real estate market and his unique knowledge and service to both buyers and sellers.  Contact Scott today for a consultation.  We’d love an opportunity to work with you on your real estate needs!

November 2009 Report | Montclair NJ Real Estate (statitstics comprised from Garden State MLS and based on Single Family Homes)

As most of you know, I am from Montclair.  Went to college there, and know every street in fine detail.  So let’s do a report on the housing market, homes for sale, etc.  Montclair has a wide range of homes consisting of beautiful Georgians, Vintage Victorians, cottages, and spacious colonials.  The housing market has been active lately, a nice sign for the local real estate market.  If you are looking to sell or buy a home in Montcl

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