NJ Real Estate Market. (Hopatcong: rental, affordable house, neighborhood)
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Definitely a great time to sell. Unfortunately, it's also a terrible time to buy. It's also apparently a terrible time to rent. So there's that...
Even cash-rich offers, which would avoid the higher interest rates, can't offset the historically low inventory. Things will normalize at some point, but I don't think anyone can predict exactly what that new normal will look like.
To take some good news, NJ by comparison, while still relatively expensive, is now less relatively expensive than a lot of formerly cheaper cities (Austin, Boise, Tampa, etc.).
I'm sure all depends on the price, but how would proximity to a train station affect the price these days?
I live in a town, called Fanwood (adjacent to Scotch Plains and Westfield). My house is 5 minute walk from the station. The train doesn't go directly to NYC (you have to transfer at Newark), but I see a lot of people waiting for their train in the morning especially from Monday to Thursday (Friday, not so much).
Are more people coming back to their office? It seems that way in my limited personal observation.
So what is the current status of real estate market in NJ?
Is it as crazy as it was a year ago? Or are things slowing down?
Is it a good time to sell?
I get a pamphlet in the mail once a month from a realtor in my area. It has all the home sales in my neighborhood, and the past 6 months they have mostly still going over asking. Unless we head into an economic depression, house prices for Single Family Homes are not coming down as there is simply not enough inventory, which was true prior to covid. The market in townhomes and condos are more soft as there is just more being made of them then the demand for them.
I read some articles about how the last couple years created a generation of unintentional landlords. The people who were able to buy/refinance at in the 2's and 3's are likely not going to sell. In many cases, it makes more sense to rent out your house if you need to move rather than sell if you have that type of loan. This will only decrease the inventory levels of homes. On the other side though, if you buy a home now your home will likely appreciate still just because there is low inventory of single family homes. If interest rates do come down (they look like they will only increase through the year) you can always refinance.
New Jersey single family housing inventory is in a precarious situation and its likely going to be a main issue going into the 2025 Governor election. Jack Ciattarelli who is likely going to run for Governor round 2 is making this a campaign discussion issue already. The Mount Laurel doctrine is part of the reason for the shortage of single family homes in the state.
Last edited by DannyHobkins; 05-26-2023 at 10:18 AM..
I'm sure all depends on the price, but how would proximity to a train station affect the price these days?
I live in a town, called Fanwood (adjacent to Scotch Plains and Westfield). My house is 5 minute walk from the station. The train doesn't go directly to NYC (you have to transfer at Newark), but I see a lot of people waiting for their train in the morning especially from Monday to Thursday (Friday, not so much).
Are more people coming back to their office? It seems that way in my limited personal observation.
Yes, more people are coming back to the office. I was coming in 1-2 days a week since late 2021. In late 2021 there were a lot of days I was the only person in the office. And I always got a seat on PATH.
More of my coworkers are coming in now, and I recently increased to 3x each week. It's been a noticeable increase just within the mast month or two. Now mid-week days (Tue-Thu) are almost like they were in 2019 in my office. Rush hour trains (at least PATH and subway) are crowded again on Tue-Thu but still below 2019 crowding.
The price homes are selling at currently don't even make any sense anymore. I used to be able to accurately predict what a home would close at. I have clients putting in offers $100k over the list price and aren't even in the running. Just lost out on a house in Glen Rock, next to the railroad tracks which got 21 offers on it.
The price homes are selling at currently don't even make any sense anymore. I used to be able to accurately predict what a home would close at. I have clients putting in offers $100k over the list price and aren't even in the running. Just lost out on a house in Glen Rock, next to the railroad tracks which got 21 offers on it.
This has been the story for the last 3 years, yet somehow both prices and interest rates keep rising.
It’s bonkers. We’re in Morris County, a 3bed 1bath ranch which hasn’t been renovated since the 90’s went on the market for 325k. They had 1 open house on Saturday, highest and best by 5pm Monday, they received over 40 offers. Neighbor told me the highest was 450K all cash no contingencies or inspections, unreal. Makes us want to sell and relocate but we also don’t want to change schools again… golden handcuffs
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