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Montclair, New Jersey

Prices Continue Their March Upward

Are more property listings about to come onto the market?

The Montclair NJ real estate market in February was largely unchanged from a year ago, with the exception of higher prices.

New listings in February inched up to 29 from 28 last year. It’s a leap year though, so no change from an average of one new listing per day.

Breaking Down the Core Local Housing Market Numbers

• Higher prices were evident across the board as the median price of new listings was $1.025 million, vs $879k last year.
• Active listings continue to trail last year at 39 versus 45 in February last year.
• The median price of the 16 sold listings increased to $810k, from $596k among the 22 sold in February 2023.
• The premium paid over asking price in February was 16%, down from the trailing twelve month average of 22%, which is down from 23%, in the twelve months ending 2/28/2023.

I expect the average premium over ask to continue to decline as pricing comes more in line with comparable sales. A number of homes have recently come on the market with listing prices in excess of $1 million. If these listings had come on the market in the past few years, they would have been priced in the high 800-low 900’s.

A few recent examples of closed homes in February show recent price appreciation and the extent to which buyers have been willing to pay a premium for the right house.

• One home closed in February for $1.8 million after having been purchased for $1.4 million in June of 2023 with no major renovations.
• Another home closed in February for $1.55 million having been purchased for $915k in July of 2018 (again no new kitchen or baths).
• A home priced at $1.3 million sold for $2.125 million.

Will buyers be willing to play these types of premiums for much longer? It seems doubtful with where prices are now.

I encourage sellers to get a price opinion and decide what kind of lifestyle change you can make with an extra couple hundred thousand (or more) dollars.

Contact me for questions on how to take advantage of the market now.

Best, Rich