By Allison Pries | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Bidding wars. Waiving inspections and appraisals. Waiting on long lines to view open houses.
The residential real estate market was on a tear during most of 2020 and 2021. But things have since returned to a more normal market in 2022 thanks largely to interest rates that doubled and the end of the urban exodus.
“A year ago there were multiple bids over asking price within days of a home coming on the market. That’s no longer the case,” said Jeffrey Otteay, a real estate economist and president of the Otteau Group. “Now, instead of a home selling for full price or more within a week of coming on the market, we’re seeing houses sit for weeks before an offer and offers less than asking price.”
Homes in New Jersey were selling at a peak this year of 105.1% of list price in June, when the median sales price also peaked for the year at $510,000, according to data from New Jersey Realtors.
In October, the last month for which New Jersey Realtors has released data, homes were selling for 100.5% of list price and the median sales price was $470,000.
“It’s two major things, lack of inventory… and (higher) interest rates,” said Robert White, president of New Jersey Realtors and a broker at Coldwell Banker Spring Lake.
Unsold homes in New Jersey have gone from about 30,000 in January 2020 to about 17,000 in October 2022.
“We kept saying inventory was going to pick up and trickle in from here and there,” White said of 2022. “It happened, just not in enough volume to make any sort of difference. And I don’t know why.”
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