Prices and inventory okay, but activity is slow.

Three factors define the local market: price,
inventory and activity. On two of them, our local
market is doing quite well. On the third, we’re
hurting big time.
As you can see from the chart to the right,
prices in Northwest Bergen were 3.3% higher in
the 4th quarter of ‘07 vs the same period a year
earlier.
And from the third chart, you can see the supply
of homes on the market remains balanced,
except on the high end. While there have been
a few foreclosures locally, there have not been
enough to cause an over-supply situation.
The sticking point right now is buying activity. In
every region of Bergen County, transaction
volume was down at least 15% in the 4th
quarter. If that pattern continues, sooner or later
inventory will rise and prices will fall.
Personally, I’ve seen a renewed interest in
buying since the first of the year. But the market
is in a precarious position. We’ll be watching the
inventory closely in the months to come.

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