2021 Local Real Estate Market Results

2021 was a Record Year for Montclair Real Estate

The outlook for 2022 remains bright for sellers and buyers.

2021 was a record year by many measures as the demand for homes continues to outstrip supply. The only exception was the number of properties sold.

Average sale prices among the 26 closings in December were a whopping 28% over asking price, which helped push the premium over ask to a record 18% for the year.

Montclair houses didn’t sit on the shelf very long as the average days on market for the year was 25. This makes it critical to work with a buyer’s agent that has a finger on the pulse of the market and knows what it takes to get an offer accepted (it’s not always price). It’s incumbent upon buyers to visit houses as they come on market and to work with their lender to craft a financing package that is affordable and risk averse, yet attractive to a seller.

Average sale prices for the year flirted with the million-dollar mark at $973k. While twice as many houses over $2 million sold in 2021 than in 2020 (20 vs. 10), the main driver of the average price increase has been among houses that would have sold in the $800-$900k range, which are now selling in excess of $1 million.

Neighboring Towns

Essex County, NJ real estate, in general, echoed what we saw in Montclair. Average sale prices hit record levels in all of the nine neighboring towns we surveyed.

All towns saw average prices exceed ask for the year, a first for Millburn. Bloomfield continues to see strong price increases with a 5 year gain of 56%. Bloomfield sellers responded to higher prices as 641 new listings hit the market vs. 557 in 2020.

2022 Outlook

The word is out that home sellers in Montclair and surrounding towns are getting high prices for their properties and we expect more people to respond, empty nesters in particular. Potential sellers have been slow to come to market as they face short supply for their next home. Generally though, they are looking at less expensive homes in terms of price and taxes so they are able to leverage local high prices to their advantage.

Sellers! Buyers are waiting in the wings, so be ready to go to market as soon as you are ready (house decluttered, small projects done, etc.). Seasonality has flattened and the traditional Spring market will come sooner than usual. Reach out for advice on next steps.

COVID Outlook

We don’t foresee COVID having too great an impact on the 2022 market as the recent spike is coming during a normally quiet period. It’s looking like this variant will burn itself out before the Spring market due, for better or worse, to it’s highly contagious nature.

Have questions? Want to know what to do?

Feel free to contact me directly at this email address.

Best, Rich

Rich Stanton
Principal Broker
3rd Generation Owner
(917) 536-8257