You continue to read and hear of signs the real estate market is improving; we wrote about just that in our February market report. Regardless of what the analysts say or what REALTORS^® say, my real estate partner Robert Meaux and I know homeowners will look skeptical upon this until we can start to say without a doubt, “sale prices are increasing”: that's what market improvement means to a seller, right?

Well, you wouldn’t believe it looking at the sales numbers from the first three months, but while we cannot say prices are increasing across the board we can say there is positive news in the marketplace through overall statistics to local market demand.

Positive Market Statements

Jeffrey Otteau leads the New Jersey real estate appraisal and consulting firm the Otteau Group, which many REALTORS follow. He noted in February the sales pace in New Jersey this year was already better than the last 4 years, even exceeding the 2010 surge of the homebuyer tax credits.  

More good news came from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, which reported economic growth in New Jersey during the fourth quarter of 2011 outpaced the rest of the nation.

New Jersey rental rates are rising too, according to Otteau, with demand exceeding availability. He stated one key component pushing this demand is all the aging baby-boomer households with underfunded retirement plans. They are selling their homes and transitioning to rentals.

These statements help exemplify that while there are concerns about things like the foreclosure shadow inventory in the market, many positive signs exist.

March Sales Figures and Videos

There are vast differences in the numbers when you compare last month to March 2011 figures, unfortunately. Montclair is the only town out of the three below that showed an increase year-over-year and that was just in the median sales price category.

March 2012 Town-by-Town Residential Sales Comparison  

The March 2011 numbers are in (parenthesis) for easy side-by-side comparison.

This time, we are providing two videos for you: one shows a scrolling gallery view of the homes that sold; while the other provides the details.

Maplewood March Sales        Gallery            Details

Montclair March Sales            Gallery            Details

West Orange March Sales    Gallery            Details

If you step back from this month and look at the entire first quarter (1Q2012 vs 1Q2011) then things don't look as drastic.

January – March 1Q2012 vs 1Q2011

The 1Q2011 numbers are in (parenthesis) for easy side-by-side comparison.

The Role of Market Demand

But why the discrepancy, you may ask? Why are reports and our past blogs saying there are signs the market is improving, that multiple offers are showing buyer demand, if the numbers above appear to bear out a different story? It's simple, these numbers reflect mostly end of year activity from 2011, not the new demand this year.

And, it's all about demand. We always monitor current demand through homes that have gone under contract because it can take anywhere from 30 - 120 days for a home sale to complete. With many waiting until school ends in June before moving many contracts have a 120 day closing date.

A home that's on the market for sale is marked under contract (US or UC) in the (GSMLS) Garden State Multiple Listing Service when the buyer and seller have completed attorney review and enter into a binding agreement to continue the process of transferring ownership from the seller to the buyer.  

2012 vs 2011 Homes that Went Under Contract  

The 2011 numbers are in (parenthesis) for easy side-by-side comparison.

The numbers above clearly show demand increasing in all three towns compared to last year. Whether you look at just the past month or the full first quarter, the story is the same. The numbers say what we have been reporting since the beginning of the year; more people were deciding to put pen to paper and buy a home. If these real estate contracts hold together, the second quarter report will show an improvement in the number of homes sold when compared to last year. 

Signs of homes being snatched off the market in under 30 days and multiple offers are continuing. As an example, we had a first open house last Sunday for a new listing and now we are under contract.  

As demand grows steadily, over time so will prices; which is what homeowenrs want to hear.

If you want information on any other towns or want to discuss the real estate market, continue to give a phone call over to either Robert Meaux @ 201-647-6144 or myself @ 201-925-8199. We enjoy talking about the real estate market and look forward to helping you sell and/or buy a home in the area.

NOTE: Information is based on our (Robert and Beverly Meaux) research, opinions and experience only and is not intended to create any type of automatic agency relationship. All information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. All specific sales data is from the Garden State Multiple Listing Service(GSMLS) and never includes private sales or new construction not listed on GSMLS.