Walkable Suburb » Market Trends

NJ’s Tax Credit for Home Buyers? Not This Year.

Lina Panza — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:51:26 +0000

Despite both the state Assembly and Senate voting to approve a tax credit for NJ home buyers, Gov. Christie vetoed the program on July 23. The NJ Home Buyer Tax Credit Program would have allowed home buyers could claim a credit of either $15,000 or 5% of the home purchase price over the course of three years following the home purchase in 2010. $75 million of the $100 million total to be allocated for the credit would have been for the purchase of new homes, to increase the state’s construction as well as provide new jobs for construction workers. The other $25m was to go to those buying resales (older homes). Like the Cash-for-Clunkers program, the $100m total was to be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Assemblymen and state Senators both pointed to the increase in jobs the credit would have brought, not just in the field of construction but also for home contractors, furniture makers, and all the industries involved in building and outfitting new houses. But Gov. Christie has long made it clear that he was against the credit, for the simple reason that the state does not have the money (yet he found $875m available for the embarrassing Xanadu shopping center in the Meadowlands…).

A Decade in Real Estate:1999-2009

Lina Panza — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:55:03 +0000

If you are reading this, you are probably one of the 90% of buyers who searched for a home online this year. According to the National Association of Realtors only 37% performed this activity 10 years ago. Here are 7 stats that have changed – or not changed over the past decade:

1999: 37% of buyers searched for a home online. 2009: 90% of buyers searched for a home online.
1999: median home value is $137,600. 2009: median home value is $172,600
1999: 82% of buyers purchased detached, single family homes. 2009: 78% of buyers purchased detached, single family homes.
1999: 46% of buyers choose suburban neighborhoods. 2009: 54% of buyers choose suburban neighborhoods.
1999: 68% of buyers were married couples. 2009: 60% of buyers are married couples.
1999 and 2009: the median age for buyers was 39.
1999 and 2009: “neighborhood quality, affordability, and convenience to work and school have consistently been top priorities.”

I bought my Montclair home just over a decade ago –11 years to be exact– and it has doubled in value, current market conditions notwithstanding. Happy to be living here in Essex County, NJ and not where the median home value has increased by a mere 25% (see #2, above).

(Lani Rosales, December 31, 2009, Agent Genius Blog)

A bright spot in Nutley NJ real estate

Lina Panza — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:01:03 +0000

Days-on-market for Nutley, NJ 070110 2009

One of the metrics that buyers use to judge a property is days-on-market (DOM). Days-on-market is important because it describes how long a property has been for sale without an accepted offer. After months of increases, many market areas in Essex County have seen DOM leveling off – a good sign for sure, but Nutley has seen a distinct drop in DOM. Since April of this year DOM has decreased from a high of 235 to about 180 – a drop of 55 days in the last 4 months – almost 25%. Notice also that the decline has been consistent and steady for the last 4 months.

Is this alone evidence of a market turnaround for 07110? No but its’ a positive sign and the first step. This is how the chain of events will happen: First DOM will decrease, which will cause inventory to fall (if homes sell faster, then fewer will be on the market at any given time). Then with supply decreasing and demand increasing prices will begin to rise again. Demand is increasing because interest rates remain low and prices have dropped making houses in Nutley affordable once again.