Passaic County Real Estate Sales Statistics - April 2009

Friday, May 22, 2009

by Orly Steinberg

Pending home sales rose with many first-time buyers taking advantage of historically good housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, increased 3.2 percent to 84.6 from a level of 82.0 in February, and is 1.1 percent higher than March 2008 when it was 83.7.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum. “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a downpayment,” he said. “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”

Let’s take a look at the Passaic County real estate sales statistics for April to see how the market looks in our area:

The number of active listings in Ringwood have decreased by 27% in April 2009 when compared to April 2008. Sold listings have stayed consistant with April 2008 and the median sales price has decreased by 26%. The average sales price has decreased by 33% to $278,675 with market times increasing 11% or 12 days.

Ringwood	Active Listings	Sold Listings	Median Sales Price	Average Sales Price	Average DOM
April 2009	91	6	$270,000	$278,675	112
April 2008	124	6	$366,000	$416,333	100

In 2009, the Wanaque market saw a 3% increase in active listings compared to April 2008. There were no homes sold in the Wanaque area. It seems that people are waiting to take advantage of affortablitity.

Wanaque	Active Listings	Sold Listings	Median Sales Price	Average Sales Price	Average DOM
April 2009	106	0	$0	$0	0
April 2008	103	6	$305,000	$315,417	96

Pompton Lakes saw a decrease of 12% in active listings in April 2009 compared to April 2008. The average sales price decreased by 21% to $265,667 and the median sales price has decreased by 12%. The number of sold listings decreased by 33%. Homes were on the market an average of 129 days less with a 75% decrease in market times.

Pompton Lakes	Active Listings	Sold Listings	Median Sales Price	Average Sales Price	Average DOM
April 2009	130	9	$290,000	$265,667	42
April 2008	147	12	$330,000	$338,283	171