Real Estate in New Jersey

Real Estate in New Jersey is a very valuable commodity. Whether you are referring to North NJ, Central NJ or South NJ; real estate in New Jersey has a tremendous amount of value. This is if you are interested in selling or buying.

This is from a recent article from Bloomberg

U.S. March Pending Home Resales Fall 1.2 Percent to 2-Year Low

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes decreased in March to a two-year low as buyers were deterred by rising mortgage rates and selling prices that remain higher than a year ago.

The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home resales, fell 1.2 percent to 116.2, the lowest reading since February 2004, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. That follows a revised reading of 117.6 in February.

Home resales will drop 6 percent this year, the Realtors group forecast on April 11. After five record years for housing, declining sales and slower appreciation in home values may hold back consumer spending and growth in the second half of the year, economists said.

``We're expecting housing to be flat in the second quarter and a drag on economic growth in the third quarter and fourth quarter.'' John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina, said before the report.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.32 percent in March, up from 6.25 percent a month earlier, according to Freddie Mac, the No. 2 buyer of mortgages. Last week, the average rate increased to 6.58 percent, the highest in almost four years.

`Modest Slowing'

``Pending sales data is showing a dampening effect from rising mortgage interest rates that have been trending up since January,'' said David Lereah, chief economist of the realtors' group. ``This means a modest slowing can be expected in the sales pace in the months ahead, although the market will hold at historically strong levels.''

The index of pending homes sales was forecast to fall 0.5 percent, the median prediction in a Bloomberg News survey of 13 economists, from an originally reported 117.7. Estimates ranged from a gain of 0.5 percent to a decline of 2 percent.

The gauge averaged 124 last year. Its base value of 100 represents average monthly pending sales in 2001.

The pending resales index decreased in two of four regions last month. Resales fell 7.4 percent in the Midwest and 1.2 percent in the South in March. Contract signings rose 5.2 percent in the Northeast and 0.7 percent in the West.

The Realtors' group's data on pending home sales goes back to January 2001. The organization started publishing the data in March of last year to provide a leading indicator for resales. The gauge tracks contract signings, as does the Commerce Department's new home sales measure.

The older index of existing home sales measures contract closings, which reflect sales activity initiated one or two months earlier. Resales account for about 85 percent of the residential real estate market.

New Home Sales

The March decline in pending sales of previously owned homes contrasts with the 13.8 percent increase in new home sales for the same month, reported April 26 by the Commerce Department. Still, the median price declined 2.2 percent to $224,200 and the number of unsold new homes was a record 555,000.

Homebuilders' optimism this month fell to the lowest level since 2001, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The Standard & Poor's Homebuilding Index of 16 companies has declined 14.3 percent so far this year, closing at 776.77 on April 28.

``We are seeing some return to more normal levels of sales and price appreciation in some markets,'' Tim Eller, chief executive of Centex Corp., said in an April 26 statement. Dallas-based Centex is the fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., New Jersey's largest homebuilder, said yesterday that its earnings during the three- month period ending April 30 may have fallen as much as 14 percent and its orders may have declined 20 percent because of the slowing housing market.

``The housing market has continued to cool off from white- hot levels of previous years,'' Ara Hovnanian, chief executive officer of the Red Bank, New Jersey-based company said in the statement. Hovnanian will The company will report full results for its fiscal second quarter May 31.

Residential investment is expected to subtract 0.4 percentage point from this year's rate of economic expansion and 80,000 mortgage industry jobs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Gross domestic product will expand 3.4 percent, the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 75 economists published April 11.

Silvia, the Wachovia economist, expects housing to subtract 1 percent from the pace of economic growth.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said April 27 that the housing market ``will most likely experience a gradual cooling, rather a sharp slowdown.''

Tip #18

Home Selling Tip, Targeting Out Of State:
When you sell your home you sometimes have to put yourself in the potential buyers’ shoes. In New Jersey many home buyers are from the surrounding area, like New York or Pennsylvania.

Knowing this can allow your agent to market your house more effectively. If he/she will advertise in a New York publication they can describe the proximity to NY. This allows your potential Buyer Base to expand.

Archives

Real Estate in New Jersey

Tip #19

Tip #18