NJ Housing Markets Holding Up Better Than Most, Redfin Report Shows

NEW JERSEY — The housing market in New Jersey metro areas is holding up relatively well under high mortgage rates and other uncertainties, according to a new report Monday from Redfin, a digital real estate brokerage.

The Redfin analysis ranks the 100 most populous metros for which full data is available on how quickly demand and competition cooled from February 2022 to February 2023. It takes into account year-over-year changes in home prices, price drops, supply, pending sales, sale-to-list price ratio and the share of homes that sell within two weeks.

Housing markets remained largely stable year-over-year in the northeast, including in New Jersey, the report showed. The cities that saw the most shakeup were tech hubs and “Zoom towns,” or places where remote workers flocked during the pandemic.

Redfin surveyed agents on the effects a surge in tech layoffs, a shaky market for tech stocks and banking turmoil had on the local housing market. Some reported buyers who were deterred by both the layoffs and topsy-turvy tech stocks, while others said there aren’t enough houses available.

The higher the number in the Redfin ranking, the more stable the real estate market. In New Jersey, three cities ranked among the top 100 most populous metros:

• Newark- 68th
• New Brunswick - 70th
• Camden - 78th

A February report from Redfin said home prices in NJ were up 2.3 percent compared to 2022, selling for a median price of $418,600. The median number of days houses were on the market as of Feb. 2022 was 61 days, an increase of 11 days year over year — and the number of homes sold in February was down 29.9 percent year over year.

The national Redfin report showed tech hubs are among metros where the housing market is slowing at a more accelerated pace than the rest of the country. That’s due to a combination of factors, Redfin said, ranging from high mortgage rates, tech industry turmoil and a low inventory of homes with high prices.

Confidence in the banking sector after the collapse of two banks is affecting the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, where 1 in 5 U.S. finance jobs are located, according to the analysis.

The five cities hit the hardest were Austin, Texas; Seattle; Phoenix; Tacoma, Washington; and Denver.

Pandemic “migration hubs” — places with more affordable housing and better climate that work-from-home employees flocked to during COVID-19 lockdowns — also saw cooling at a faster pace. North Port, Florida, tops that list, which also includes Austin, Phoenix, Los Vegas and Sacramento.

The 10 metros holding up the best are:

1. Hartford, Connecticut
2. Milwaukee
3. New Haven, Connecticut
4. Bridgeport, Connecticut
5. Albany, New York
6. Rochester, New York
7. Lake County, Illinois
8. McAllen, Texas
9. Wilmington, Delaware
10. Chicago

Agents in those metros with quickly cooling housing markets are still selling houses as mortgage rates decline from their peak and supply remains low, the report said.

“I’m seeing bidding wars on homes that are priced fairly and accurately, and the overall market looks strong this week,” San Jose Redfin agent Laxmi Penupothula said in a news release. “Overpriced listings are the ones sitting on the market.”

Patch’s national desk contributed to this report.