Summer 2020 Proved to be Season of Selling

Trenton, New Jersey (September 29, 2020)—The summer housing market proved to be one of the busiest in a long time for many New Jersey Realtors and that momentum will likely extend into fall. Demand is high throughout the state and the continued limited inventory is propelling a competitive market.

New listings for single family homes were up 16.1 percent for the month of August, but still down 16.2 percent for the whole year. Pending sales for single family homes rose 35.6 percent, with 10,489 recorded for August. The median sales price for single family homes jumped 17.1 percent to $410,000 over last August, an indicator of the strong prices this summer has pulled for listings.

Throughout the entire state, closed sales rose 7 percent in August to 13,024. The number of homes for sale across New Jersey sits at 32,759, a decrease of 39.4 percent over last August, when there were 54,025 homes for sale. Inventory is extremely restricted, a problem that has been evident for the past few years, but is now exacerbated by the pandemic. The year-to-date median sales price for all properties is $334,000, up 9.5 percent over 2019.

“Higher prices throughout the market are pushing sellers to list,” said New Jersey Realtors 2020 President Angela Sicoli. “This should help level out demand and inventory concerns.”

The townhouse/condo market is stable, with closed sales up 2.1 percent over last August and the median sale price also on the rise, up to $285,000 for August 2020. Adult communities will likely see a big fall, with a 30.4 percent increase in pending sales for August 2020.

With schools back in session remotely, in-person, or a hybrid of the two, it’s too early to tell if the fall season will see the same urgency that summer did. But pent up demand will likely propel the market forward into a very busy fall.

New Jersey Realtors is the voice of real estate for New Jersey. It is a non-profit organization serving the professional needs of more than 56,000 Realtor and Realtor-Associate members engaged in all facets of the real estate business. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, NJ Realtors is dedicated to enhancing the ability of its members to conduct their business successfully while maintaining the preservation of private property rights. Realtor is a registered collective membership mark, which may be used only by real estate professionals who subscribe to the Realtor organization’s strict Code of Ethics and are members of the national, state and local Realtor organizations. For more information, visit njrealtor.com.

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