Finally, the numbers are bearing the exodus out!
Essex and Union counties reported their August sales, and both counties blew the numbers out of the water!
They both reported significant increases in the median sales price, in new listings, closed sales, and reduction in days on market.
Union County
The exodus from the densely populated New York City, specifically Manhattan, seems to be spilling over into Union County in a very big way. The median sales price for a single-family home skyrocketed by 19.5% from the same period in 2019, coming in at $460,000, increasing from $385,000 reported in August of 2019.
In addition the percent of list price received also climbed to over 100%, to 100.1%.
The inventory of single-family homes in Union County plummeted by 42% to 977 properties; this is from the 1,689 listings that were for sale in August of 2019. This is creating a true crisis in inventory, causing the month supply of homes for sale falling to 2.4 months supply from 4.3 months supply back in August of 2019.
Essex County
Essex County also reported a very liquid and active market in August of 2020. New listings jumped by 38% from 2019 listings to 725 single-family homes.
The number of closed sales also jumped by 13.8% to 620 for the month of August 2020.
What was even more amazing is that the median sales price for an Essex County home jumped over $100,000 from $498,000 to $604,000, a 21.2% increase. In addition the percent of list price received climbed by 3.2% to 103.6%. That is a full-scale bidding war.
Inventory in Essex County also fell dramatically in August from the prior period, from 1,814 to 1,117, a 38% drop.
Currently the months supply of inventory is calculated to be 2.6 months, a 39.5% drop from August 2019.
There’s no doubt about it, the exodus from New York City is clearly having a dramatic and palpable financial impact upon the New Jersey adjacent counties, in particular Essex and Union counties. Just how long this surge is going to last, no one is quite sure, but as long as the interest rates remain under 3% and COVID-19 continues to affect school openings, businesses, restaurants and entertainment, this could be a prolonged movement, a population that will forever change the demographics of the counties that surround New York City.