October 2019 Market Update - Luxury Homes/Top Towns

You have seen the CRS after my name, and may remember it stands for Certified Residential Specialist.
Our organization magazine printed a fun chart on Top 10 Sale Price Enhancing Keywords. I am not sharing it to suggest you make capital improvements to your home to sell it. If you are doing work for your own enjoyment though, you may want to weave in these elements that are most attractive to today’s buyers. One more caveat: the chart gives the appearance a single element vastly affects a sale price. I would suggest the keyword’s appearance in the marketing is emblematic of overall conformity to current buyer’s expectations as well. Here’s the article: https://trsmag.com/whats-cooking/

I attended Jeffrey Otteau’s Fall Housing Workshop yesterday, and here are some highlights:

NJ statewide is enjoying a Goldilocks housing economy. Just enough to buy, little enough to power a 2.2% rise in values.
NJ job growth, after lagging the US during most of the recovery, is now outperforming. With rising wages and lower mortgage rates, housing affordability is strong.
YTD we have seen the highest sales volume EVER.
The fly in the ointment is the luxury end of the market. The recent tax changes made homeownership more affordable for moderate income buyers. But the SALT changes provoked an exodus of the wealthiest, and a glut of homes valued over $1.5 million.
While the transit towns in our market rocketed ahead of the rest of the state 2012-2017, they are now lagging. I would suggest it is mainly a defrothing, with an element of concern about the woeful state of NJ rail commutes.
If you plan a move in the next months or year, and want to contrive a game plan, please call, text or email me for a visit.

Curious about your home’s value?

Please click below for the market update of interest to you:

Chatham

Cranford

Fanwood

Millburn-Short Hills

Mountainside

Scotch Plains

Summit

Watchung

Warren

Westfield by Grade School: