Today marks just about the midway point to February, especially with this being a leap year, so I wanted to post an interim real estate report for Cranford NJ.
As of today, there are 79 Active Listings in Cranford NJ, and there have been 7 homes that have gone under contract this month. That is a good pace for sales in February, and I anticipate that we will see at least a handful more, as there are several properties currently in attorney review.
Check back in 15 days for the February Real Estate report for Cranford, which will include pricing information, comparisons to 2007, and projections for the quarterly report of the 1st quarter 2008.
For the January report: Click Here
Thanks for reading!
Sean Carroll - Realtor, Team Leader
"Team Carroll" - Real Estate Professionals Specializing in Cranford, Westfield, Scotch Plains area Real Estate
Here is the market snapshot for Scotch Plains NJ Real Estate for the month ending January 2008.
Number of Active Listings: 174 (down from 212 a year ago)
Number of New Listings: 40 (down from 62 a year ago)
Under Contract: 12 (down from 19 a year ago)
Closed Sales: 12 (down from 17 a year ago)
Average Sales Price: $400,000 (down from $405,000 in 2007
Average Days on Market: 100 up from 94 a year ago
What does this mean?? Well, unlike Cranford and Westfield , Scotch Plains really has an over supply of inventory. Around 12 months of inventory to be exact (12 closed sales and 12 pending, with over 174 listings)
This varies from price range to price range, and differs in various neighborhoods throughout the town, of course, but the overall picture would indicate that prices in Scotch Plains may continue to decline slightly over the next several months, until this inventory starts to sell. If you are planning on selling your home, pricing it correctly with a thorough market analysis is an absolute MUST.
Thanks for reading!!
Sean Carroll - Realtor, Team Leader
"Team Carroll" - Scotch Plains, Cranford, Westfield Specialist
RE/MAX Classic Group
This is an addendum to my post about the Cranford NJ Real Estate Market summary for January 2008.
After studying the numbers for a period of 3 months ending January 2008, and comparing them to that same period from January 2007, it confirms what I said in my earlier blog. We are flatlined in terms of prices and sales activity from one year ago with no heavy change in either direction . While there were less closed and pending sales by a few percentage points, there were also slightly less new listings. Less new listings is a good thing for selling off inventory, and for sparking buyer activity.
Keep in mind that these figures do not reflect any offers that may have been written in the last few weeks of January, and were still in attorney review as of January 31. I noticed a big boost in buyer activity during the second half of the month with those interest rates dropping to the mid 5's.
I actually enjoy looking at these numbers, because it helps me make sense of what has happened, and how I can best serve my clients moving forward.
Until next time...
Sean Carroll - Realtor, Team Leader
"Team Carroll" Cranford, Westfield NJ Area Real Estate Professionals.
These are just preliminary closed sale numbers, as we are still compiling the data on pending transactions, and year over year change, but since I know many of you anticipate this information at the start of each month, here are some numbers for Westfield NJ Real Estate.
Closed Sales: 14
Average Sales Price: 779,714
Average Days on Market: 67
Average List to Sale Price Ratio: 94.7%
Click here for the Cranford Numbers
In isolation, these numbers show a healthy balance of buyers and sellers with the days on market, however, we really can't judge what this means for the state of the market, until we compare these numbers with prior years, and also look at how many homes are actively listed, versus how many actually sold. Expect those numbers in the next week or so.
Thanks for Reading our Westfield NJ Real Estate Market Summary
Sean Carroll - Realtor, Team Leader
"Team Carroll" Real Estate Professionals for Cranford, Westfield, and Surrounding Areas
****Drumroll Please*****
I know I gave you all that great teaser yesterday saying I was prepared to maybe to call the bottom of this housing market in Cranford NJ and tell you that sales activity might indicate that we were starting to pull away from the slower pace of the past 2 years. Well...unfortunately the data doesn't indicate a movement upward in sales activity, but the good news is that there was not a movement down in sales activity either, which could mean we are surfing around on the bottom part of the housing cycle, ready to make a move upwards in activity.
If history is a guide, corrections usually last in the neighborhood of 3 years, and we are approaching that 3 year mark here in this area. So, I would tend to believe that we may start to see some motion to the upside in pending sales, and a downward trend in inventory. That second part did occur in January 2008 in Cranford. We had a total of 89 active listings in the month of January that is down from 92 a year ago in 2007. We had 13 homes go under contract in January 2008, which is down from 16 in 2007. So comparing apples to apples, we are flatlined from a year ago.
Here are the raw numbers for January 2008 in Cranford NJ Real Estate
Here is the Updated Pending Sales Commentary
Number of Closed Sales: 10 (this includes those that went under contract before January)
Number of Listings that Went Under Contract 13
Average Sales Price: $379,740
Average Days on Market of Sold Homes: 87
List to Sale Price Ratio: 95%
Number of New Listings: 36
Current Months of Inventory: 5.92 (this is a big deal, because it's under 6 months, which is a very...very slight tilt towards a sellers market, or demand driven market. If this goes down more next month, I will feel more confident saying we are trending towards price increases. Not yet, however.)
So There you have it. I hope this was informative, and look for my Westfield and Scotch Plains/Fanwood version before too long.
Check back often for more updates. With interest rates so low, and many sellers not re-listing their expireds from last year, we may start to see some more of this inventory sell off, which is good news for sellers, and motivation for buyers to LOCK IN now while rates are low, and supply is higher.
No matter what the market does, my job doesn't change...SERVING YOU, the client, and representing your best interests. Part of that responsibility is to know our market, and give you solid advice on what you need to do to accomplish your goals, regardless of whether it's a buyers market, sellers market, or neutral market. Happy House Hunting!
Sean Carroll - Realtor, Team Leader
"Team Carroll" - Cranford, Westfield and Scotch Plains/Fanwood Real Estate Professionals
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Team Carroll - We specialize in Cranford, Westfield NJ and surrounding areas as THE local experts on the Cranford and Westfield NJ Real Estate Market. Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE)
As a resident of Westfield, NJ, I pride myself on being the local specialist for my neighbors, friends, and new clients in the Cranford, Westfield, Scotch Plains Area. I am a former public school teacher in the Union County area, and the skills I gained as a teacher help me tremendously as a Real Estate Agent.
I believe in providing my clients with as much information as possible. Whether through e-mail searches, online market analyses, or searching the MLS through my website, I believe it is important to give my customers the type of service I would expect from a real estate agent.
I always want to treat people with kindness, courtesy, and respect. By selecting me as your Realtor, I am confident that you will feel as if your needs are my number one priority.
Visit my homepage at http://www.TeamCarrollNJ.com to view properties, and other great free services that I provide for my clients.
If you are looking for a home in Berkeley Heights, Cranford, or surrounding areas, you can receive automatic real estate listing updates by e-mail by logging onto http://www.NjAreaRealEstate.com
Free Comparative Market Analysis by e-mail at: http://www.UnionCountyHomePricing.com
Selling your home in Cranford, NJ? Logon to http://www.Cranfordhomesellers.com for helpful tips to prepare your home for sale.
Sean is a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). We are passionate about helping homeowners AVOID the devastating consequences of foreclosure.
What Is a CDPE?
The Developers of the Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation (CDPE) believe that in almost all cases the best person for a homeowner in distress to speak with is a well informed Licensed Realtor® that has the tools needed to help that homeowner find the best solution for their situation.
Foreclosure is a devastating financial and emotional process for a homeowner to go through, and in many cases they do so alone and without help of any kind.
An Agent who has earned the CDPE Designation has dedicated their time and effort to understanding the issues distressed homeowners are dealing with. The CDPE Professional is an agent who understands the full range of solutions and is ready to help.
While experiencing financial distress is difficult for any family, the process of finding a real estate professional shouldn't be, Selecting a CDPE agent ensures you are dealing with a professional ready to address your needs.
What Makes Team Carroll the Best Choice for You?
Realtor Code of Ethics
Call Sean Carroll today for all of your real estate needs for Cranford, Westfield, Scotch Plains NJ and surrounding areas.
We just wanted to extend our sincere gratitude to you for all of your efforts and hard work that went into finding us our first home. You were relentless and never lost hope that we would find the right place, even when we thought it was just not meant to be. We cannot thank you enough for all of your support and willingness to be there throughout the entire arduous process. All things considered, we believe that it was you that made it a positive experience for us in the end. We just want you to know that you will be the first person we think of to recommend if any of our friends/family need a realtor! And of course, it goes without saying that we plan to use you for any of our future real estate endeavors. - Erin and Vincent B - Hillsborough, NJ
Keith and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your outstanding support! Throughout the entire house-buying process we have been impressed with your thoroughness, kindness, honesty, knowledge and willingness to go the extra mile on our behalf.
You offered us an objective viewpoint on each house we toured, thereby helping us with our decisions. Furthermore, we were consistently impressed by your willingness to research our questions and concerns without hesitation.
Your generosity didn't stop there, you also took it upon yourself to take and send us digital pictures of homes we were interested in when we could not make it into town.
We really appreciated how comfortable you made us feel during the whole process. You were expedient in returning our calls, searching for properties, and setting up tours.
In finalizing all the detailed work involved in closing the deal and completing the contracts, you were very helpful and were on top of all closing requirements.
It has truly been a pleasure working with you and we can not thank you enough for all of your effort and hard work.
We will recommend you to anyone looking for a highly effective and reliable real estate
agent. Please do not hesitate to use Keith and me as a reference; we can be contacted anytime!
Best Regards, Keith and Yvonne - Red Bank, NJ
We had seen almost 60 houses when we found Sean. He introduced us to Cranford and showed us all the houses we wanted to see. He was patient, kid friendly and worked diligently for us right up to and after the closing. We still keep in touch with Sean and he is still answering questions and supplying us with info a new home owner needs. - Amy and Rich I. - Cranford, NJ
Just want to wish you a Happy New Year and to tell you how much I appreciate receiving the information you send. You are hardworking and industrious and I hope your earnings reflect this. If I were a business owner, I would like to have only people like you working for me. - Carol G in Summit NJ
You were definitely worth every penny! You really understood me, and what I needed, and I could have never sold my home without you! - Sherry R. in Berkeley Heights, NJ
I would like to express my gratitude and my wife's for all your efforts and patience in helping us along in the process of finding a house that met our needs. Your performance as negotiator was admirable, thereby bringing the other side to accept our offer, not once but twice.
Your opinions and knowledge of the real estate business contributed in grand measure to make the whole process a smooth and palatable experience.
It was pleasant to always find you available with timely communication and updates either by phone or
e-mail. We would certainly recommend you to our friends as the
best buying negotiator and agent that we know.
Best regards,
Jaime and Dennys R. - Rahway, NJ
My husband and I were in the market for a new house so I decided to do some research on line. We had used the same realtor on previous occasions but I felt we needed someone with a bit more enthusiasm for the job. I was surfing the internet when I came across Sean Carroll's advertisement and decided to give him a call.
I was not expecting anything as I am the type of person that prefers to have a recommendation before hiring someone. Not only did Sean promptly return my call but he quickly arranged to meet my husband and me at our house to discuss every aspect of the buying and selling process. Sean stayed for over two hours, answering every question that we had. He never once indicated that we were taking up too much of his time. To the contrary, he made sure that every query we had was answered to our satisfaction before he left. My husband and I decided there and then to hire him as our realtor and it was one of the best decisions we made.
Not only is Sean extremely efficient, he is very enthusiastic about his job, reliable, honest and trustworthy. He never once showed us a home that was out of our budget or out of our desired target area to live. He knew exactly what we wanted and didn't stop looking until he found it. Even when things got a little tense with the sellers of our new home, he was there to smooth things over and to ensure that not only were we happy but the seller also.
In the end the transition from our previous home to our dream home was very smooth and that is all thanks to Sean. In fact at the closing the seller's attorney commented that we had an excellent realtor. He said usually in these situations realtors and attorneys do not get on but that Sean was the exception. He truly went above and beyond what we came to expect from a realtor. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Sean Carroll as a realtor.
Carmel Broderick & Mark McAvey - Cranford, NJ
You are an excellent example to follow in business. You follow up is commendable. You attention to your customer and every detail of the transaction is flawless. Working with you motivates me in my business. I would feel totally confident recommending you to my clients, associates and friends. Well done!
Melanie R. - Scotch Plains, NJ
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