It’s clear that the housing market is returning back to normal levels. As reopening plans continued throughout the nation, real estate activity improved as well, according to a new report by New Jersey Realtors.
Nationally, the report found activity in June was up when compared to the depressed levels of recent months, but also increased from June 2019, reflecting the pent-up desire to buy homes throughout the lockdown months.
The median sales price for all property types was up 8.5% this year to $320,000 even with current mortgage interest rates of 3.01%, a historic low. With sellers interested in the price of their home and buyers tempted by low interest rates, outmigration from the cities has put pressure on suburban markets, especially in North Jersey.
Closed sales are still below the average, but the gap has narrowed. There were 8,967 closed sales as of June, a decrease of 21.8% from last June’s 11,468. However, year-to-date, closed sales are down 14.1% to 46,726 from last year’s 54,373.
Pending sales jumped to 13,958 in June from 11,183 in June 2019, a 33.8% increase.
New listings, 16,954 in total this month, were off by only 0.6% compared to last June’s 16,853.
“We’re getting back on track,” Angela Sicoli, 2020 president, New Jersey Realtors, said. “It’s been a hard few months for our agents, but seeing the numbers tick higher means that they are back out in the field working to help their clients and that’s all we can ask for right now.”
The amount of homes for sale is tight, with just 34,480 in June, down 41% from June 2019’s 58,484.
The number of days a home is on the market also increased this month, sitting at 64 days, compared to 57 in June 2019.
