Major Shift In The NJ Housing Market Echoes Nationwide Imbalance

NEW JERSEY - Whether you are a shore or suburbs person, you most likely have had plenty of options to choose from recently if you are in the market for a new home.

The United States had nearly $700 billion worth of homes for sale in a recent data report from real estate tracker, Redfin. The summary reflects the market in April 2025, and shows a 20.3 percent rise from the same period in 2024.

In New Jersey, 10,679 homes were listed in April, good for a 3.1 percent increase year over year.

While nationwide, inventory is at a five-year high and the numbers do not point to upward-moving trends, here in New Jersey, there is at least one major data point that shows signs of success.

According to Newsweek, Newark, New Jersey was the nation's strongest seller's market, with 47 percent fewer sellers than buyers. The median sale price of a home is up 12.2 percent year over year, good for the highest rise among the top 50 metro areas.

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When compared to the United States at large, sellers now outnumber buyers by a whopping 34 percent, with 1.94 million active listings versus 1.45 million, amounting to the largest gap in more than a decade. Out of these listings, 44 percent ($331 billion worth of homes), have been on the market for over 60 days, the highest mark since 2020.

According to Business Insider, anxiety stemming from tariffs, the path of inflation, and the overall economy is largely fueling the weak demand in the U.S. housing market.

While pending and new-home sales saw gains in March as buyers took advantage of a lull in mortgage rates, Realtor.com believes the mid-April spike could mean more flat market activity until buyers see some relief in housing costs.

As Redfin's head of economics research Chen Zhao lays out, "...rising inventory, weakened demand, and the prevalence of stale supply...(may) push home prices down 1% by the end of this year, which should improve affordability for buyers because incomes are still going up.”

In April, 53.3 percent of homes in New Jersey sold above their list price, down 2 points from the same time in 2024. Of those homes, 18 percent had price drops, which is 13 percent higher of a rate during that same period.