We are now in 2016, which gives us a chance to review the past year — 2015 — in real estate.
It was a tremendous year for our area train towns.
We saw prices paid rise as much as 10.8% in South Orange, unit sales increase as much as 7.4% in Maplewood and the highest average price paid to $1,346,587.30 in Millburn/Short Hills. All three towns showed decreases in DOM — Days On Market — a measure of how quickly homes are selling. An amazing 51% of Maplewood’s listings sold for asking price or more. South Orange showed the highest price paid v. asking price, coming in at 102.6% (making up for the past two years where South Orange lagged slightly behind Maplewood stats for increases in performance).
Here are the charts that depict the average results as pulled from the GSMLS*:
For Maplewood, prices paid for homes rose to $543,720, bringing us virtually to the same price from the peak of real estate prices paid in 2006 ($900.00 shy). Buyers are still paying over asking price to an average of 101.55%, the highest level since I’ve been tracking such activity since 2009. Unit sales were up which is a great sign considering that active inventory levels have remained at historical lows. Lastly, 2015 was the return of the Million Dollar Listings, There were 13 homes listed for over $1,000,000 and of these six of them sold for over asking. These 13 homes sold total more than the past 3 years combined of $1,000,000+ homes sold in Maplewood (click on the chart in the photo gallery below for a clearer picture).
In South Orange, we saw an amazing increase in prices paid of almost 11%, bringing the average price up to $621,912. Even more exciting, buyers paid an average of 102.6% of asking price for their homes while Days on Market showed a sharp decline of almost 16%. There is no doubt that 2016 was a phenomenal year for South Orange sellers. While South Orange did make huge strides forward, we still have another 7.5% in price to grow in order to claim that full recovery has been reached, but the trends show that this could be achieved this year.
This brings us to Millburn and Short Hills, where we continued to see generally good signs. Keeping in mind that luxury inventory, more specifically multi-million dollar homes don’t sell as quickly, we still showed an increase in average price paid and a decrease in Days On Market. Even better, buyers paid 98.6% of asking price as compared to 98.2% in 2014. The only soft spot was that unit sales actually dropped 5.5%. Being that average inventories remain so low, this is not actually much of a surprise.
So, 2015 was a banner year and, if statistics prove right between trend analysis and the fact that 2016 is an election year, we could expect continued health in local real estate.
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Mark Slade Keller Williams 917.797.5059 Good Homes
Selling a Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn/Short Hills area home involves many steps and having an experienced Maplewood New Jersey Real Estate Agent and Realtor®, specializing in the Bedroom Communities of New York City in Essex/Union County— Millburn, Short Hills, Montclair, West Orange, South Orange, Livingston, Maplewood, Springfield, Summit, Madison, Chatham, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Cranford and Westfield–by your side will make the transaction run a lot smoother. I would love to be your Maplewood/South Orange New Jersey Area Real Estate Professional! I assist both buyers and sellers in the Bedroom Communities of New York City, mostly served by NJ Transit’s Mid-Town Direct Train Lines, offering commutes of 45minute or less to NY Penn Station, with either the purchase and or sale of residential real estate.
As an Accredited Buyer’s Agent (ABR), I have received special training to guide and educate you through the entire home buying process. From start to finish, I listen to your needs and desires in what you would like and take the information you give me to find you home. My GO-TO team can provide you the best in Real Estate advice with regard to attorney choices, Home Inspectors and Mortgage Loan Officers
As your Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn/Short Hills/Essex/Union County New Jersey listing agent I am well versed on as your local expert in all things in the Maplewood and South Orange area Real Estate Market. You can expect personalized service that includes a detailed consultation on how to best position your Mid-Town Direct home to be competitive in today’s market with training to provide my clients with an in-depth Advanced Comparative Market analysis, and advice on staging. As my office’s technology officer as well as both a Zillow Platinum Premier and Trulia Premier agent, I use the latest and most up-to-date marketing methods to get your home in front of as many buyers as possible. Being your New Jersey Real Estate Agent and Realtor ® not only involves just finding the home or selling the home, but being your guide, negotiator, advisor and advocate and making sure that your needs and goals are met. Being your New Jersey Essex/Union County area Realtor® (with a little bit of Morris County thrown in for good measure) is one of my truest passions, and “Helping You Find Your Dream Home” is my number one priority.
