Real Estate Sales March 2020 Results

On an annual comparative basis, March’s sales of existing homes increased by 0.8%, which considering the impact of the COVID pandemic, is positive. March’s seasonally adjusted annual rate increased from 5.23 million to 5.27 million in 2020.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median existing-home price for all housing types was $280,600 in March, an increase of 8.0% from 2019. This represents the 97th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Regionally, all four regions showed strong price growth from a year ago:
■ Midwest up 9.7%
■ Northeast up 8.3%
■ West up 8.0%
■ South up 7.9%

Nationally, single-family home sales were up 1.3% compared to 2019. Single-family homes posted an increase in price of 8.1% to $282,500 year-over-year.

Monmouth County, NJ
Interestingly, there has not been a drop in the average price of a home. In Monmouth County, NJ, There has been a more than 69% drop in new single-family homes coming to market but the average sales price improved by 32.83%, compared to last year.

And the median sales price also improved by over 10%, from $415,000 to $458,750, year over year.

As expected, March’s inventory figures were improved only slightly by 2.7% from February, with 1.50 million homes for sale.

On a comparative basis, the available inventory in March 2020 fell by 10.2%, marking ten straight months of year-over-year declines. There was a 148% year-over-year increase in homes being delisted during the week ending March 29, totaling 28,140 homes pulled off the market.

The virus economy is also having an effect on where buyers are choosing to live and how they are choosing to buy their homes.
• There has been a shift to demand toward more rural areas and away from cities.
• Prior to the economy being hit with this virus, approximately 0.5% of house tours were virtual; but now virtual tours comprise roughly one-third of house tours.