NJ Housing Market To Stay Hot This Summer: See Sale Prices By County

NEW JERSEY — The housing market in New Jersey will stay competitive this summer with inventory low, and home prices may increase according to trends and predictions from real estate publications.

New Jersey’s home prices are higher than the national average, and the state also has the highest property taxes in the nation — many homebuyers and property owners know this by the feeling in their own pocketbooks. The median New Jersey home price increased 4.3 percent over the past year to $453,100 according to Redfin, and the average number of homes sold was down 29.5 percent year-over-year.

First-quarter statistics from New Jersey Realtors show that the number of home sales continues to decrease in the Garden State as prices start to trend upward, and interest rates remain high. And, the inventory of single-family homes for sale in the state decreased from 18,182 in May 2022 to 13,204 in April 2023.

Eugene Cordano, president of Brown Harris Stevens New Jersey, told the New Jersey Realtors magazine that the lack of inventory has “reached crisis level” in most markets and price ranges. Cordano added that his agency has seen properties listed at $2 million or more “selling for as much as $800,000 over asking price.”

Current owners have little incentive to sell their homes if they can’t find a new one to move into afterwards, added the realtor organization.

Related article — Highest NJ Property Taxes: See Where Your Town Ranks On New List

Low inventory continues to drive home prices up nationwide, according to the June forecast from housing market data provider Zillow.

Zillow’s latest forecast calls for home values to grow 5 percent in 2023, an increase from what they predicted earlier this year.

In New Jersey, Norada Real Estate predicted the market will “continue its steady growth in 2023 and 2024” earlier this spring.

April saw a rise in prices for single family homes in New Jersey, with the median sales price at $467,000 according to New Jersey Realtors, formerly the NJ Association of Realtors.

Here was the median sales price in every county for single-family homes in April 2023, according to their statistics:

• Atlantic County: $350,000
• Bergen County: $650,000
• Burlington County: $349,000
• Camden County: $310,000
• Cape May County: 445,000
• Cumberland County: $240,000
• Essex County: $625,000
• Gloucester County: $319,950
• Hudson County: $539,000
• Hunterdon County: $454,500
• Mercer County: $370,000
• Middlesex County: $475,000
• Monmouth County: $682,500
• Morris County: $612,500
• Ocean County: $500,000
• Passaic County: $490,000
• Salem County: $235,000
• Somerset County: $627,500
• Sussex County: $370,500
• Union County: $550,000
• Warren County: $340,000

New Jersey Realtors pointed to low inventory as a main factor for the market position along with higher mortgage rates, velocity in the rental market, and affordability issues as concerns about a potential recession loom. High property taxes were also cited as a major factor shaping the real estate market.