There is the occasional bidding war, but the list prices for many homes are being reduced, and in some cases very quickly.
Most likely, the reason for this being that sellers believe they have seen the market top off. So right now, they want to leverage the inventory shortage to their advantage and sell their homes quickly in hopes of getting a price that is, in most cases, 15% higher than it was at the same time in 2021.
Colts Neck Listing Slides
Just recently in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a six-bedroom, six-bath home sold for $1.375 million. That may seem like a lot but consider that it was listed in October of this year for $1.6 million dollars.That’s a crazy price slash. It all occurred within a matter of 8 weeks when the price was reduced by $425,000; that’s approximately 25% of the original list price. That’s a lot of discount in 8 weeks. Very possibly the real estate taxes of $25,500 a year might have had something to do with the accelerated sale – who wants to pay another $6,000 to wait for the home to sell?
Monmouth County Still Attractive
Still according to Rocket Homes, the median price for a home sold in November 2022 was $550,000. That is a 13% increase year-over-year from 2021. And Ocean County showed a similar appreciation in home values, climbing to $400,000 as a median sale price. The good news for buyers is that inventory for homes in Monmouth County increased to 2,816, a 1.1% increase from October 2022. So, the market is not as tight, but the cost of a mortgage has doubled over the last 6 months.
Another metric posted by Rocket Homes shows that over the last month from October to November, 247 homes were sold under the asking price, while 230 homes were sold over the asking price, translating into 45% versus 42% of homes sold, respectively.
The days on market continues to fall from 2021 to 2022 by 12.3%. The majority of homes in Monmouth County, 67%, were sold in under 30 days.
If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single-family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.
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