January Pending Home Sales Highest Since April 2010
According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales rose 4.5 percent in January and are 9.5 percent above January 2012. Pending home sales have now been above year-ago levels for the past 21 months.
The January index is the highest reading since April 2010, just before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit. Aside from spikes induced by the tax credits, the last time there was a higher reading was in February 2007.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said inventory is the key to this year’s housing market. “Over the near term, rising contract activity means higher home sales, but total sales for the year are expected to rise less than in 2012, while home prices are projected to rise more strongly because of inventory shortages,” Yun said.
Basking Ridge Sales Data
Sales data in Basking Ridge for February has been posted on my site. Townhouses are closing on average within 2% of list price, single family homes within 3%. Inventory levels in Basking Ridge are still crazy low – we are seeing multiple offers and disappointed buyers. If you are considering a move, now might be the right time to get serious! I’m happy to provide a no obligation market analysis for you. I have the data and I have no problem sharing it with you whether you think you might be ready in a week, a month or a year from now.
A little Bernardsville Data
I am comping a Bernardsville property for a potential buyer with whom I have been working for quite some time. Thought I’d share what I found: A quick statistical review of Bernardsville sales between $600,000 and $800,000 this past year (30 properties) shows an average of 97% sale price to list price ratio; the homes that sell in under 30 days (10 properties) sold between 98 and 101% of list price. Looking at tax assessment to sale price – this data seems to be all over the map – with only 7 homes selling under assessment, 23 homes selling over assessment and six homes selling more than 20% over assessment; with an average of about 15% over assessed value.
New Listings
I am working on several new listings:
– a two bedroom townhouse in Bedminster
– a three bedroom townhouse in Basking Ridge (this one is very tentative)
– a four bedroom colonial in Branchburg
– a one bedroom condo in Basking Ridge (Spring Ridge)
– a 3-4 bedroom cape in Basking Ridge (coming very soon)
==============================================================================
