4th Quarter Update
Lots of people consider Cherry Hill to be overpriced. But when you consider the
quality of the schools, the proximity to downtown Philadelphia and the abundance of jobs, services and amenities, I'm seeing that it remains a strong segment in the Camden County market. There are simply too many strong fundamentals here to ignore. Transactional activity remains strong to date. Already, we've had 400 single family and 100 condominium sales close this year.
To be sure, there are in fact two markets in Cherry Hill. Most properties (60-70%) remain overpriced, poorly prepared or staged and simply stagnate and expire leaving sellers disappointed. If mistakes, even small ones, are made in the areas of pricing, preparation or marketing it will become a "market rejected" property. It is this market where no action is occuring -- few showings, no offers -- nothing but stagnation.
Now the opposite is true for the remainder of the market (30-40%). Properties that have been competitively priced, superbly presented/prepared/staged and where the marketing is top notch are experiencing multiple offers and going under contract within 60 days. By competitive pricing I don't mean equal to other offerings on the market, I mean slightly below the competition. If the value proposition is fulfilled, buyers are flocking to it.
Seller's are finally getting the idea that if they are to sell, they must dance to the tune being called by buyers. Prices are coming down for these motivated sellers. And the first time buyer's stimulus is bringing an added boost. Pending transactions are increasing dramatically as we approach the November 30th deadline.