If you’ve been thinking about buying a single-family home in Brick, is now a good time to buy? The signals are mixed: although nationwide home prices have increased by 12%, as of the end of August, the median price of a single-family home in Brick is actually down 4% compared to a year ago. So, is now your chance to buy while prices are still low?
Let’s look at the 8 month year-to-date statistics for Brick, focusing on the 4 key objective real estate indicators (items in bold font are good news for home sellers, but bad news for home buyers; items in underlined italic font are bad news for home sellers, but good news for home buyers):
Sales: 332 in 2012, 406 in 2013 (+22%)
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Listings: 552 in 2012, 547 at the end of August 2013 (-1%)
Median Sales Price: $255,000 in 2012, $245,000 in 2013 (-4%)
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Absorption Rate: 12.4 months in 2012, 9.3 months now (stronger Demand vs. Supply)
As you can see, 3 of the 4 key real estate indicators are good news for home sellers (and bad news for home buyers). The increased number of sales and the decreased number of listings predict higher prices in the future, even though the median home price has decreased by 4%. However, look at the real estate absorption rate. The real estate absorption rate is a calculation of how long it would take to sell all the homes that are currently listed, assuming that homes continue to sell at the current rate for the past 12 months. In a “normal market” the absorption rate is between 5 and 7 months, greater than 7 months is considered a “buyer’s market” and less than 5 months is considered a “seller’s market”.
According to the absorption rate, Brick is still in a “buyer’s market”, but it’s moving towards a “normal market”. If you’re thinking of selling a home in Brick, the year-to-date statistics above are predicting higher prices in the future, and you may want to wait until spring to list your home. On the other hand, if you’re thinking of buying a single-family home in Brick, you may want to move sooner rather than later, because we’re still in a “buyer’s market” and the median price is 4% lower than it was a year ago.
Traditionally there's an upswing in the number of home sales between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, and then a relatively quiet real estate market until early spring. If you're thinking of buying a home in Brick, look now while there's still a good supply of homes. If you find a home you like, you'd be wise to lock in a mortgage interest rate before rates go up again.
Remember, if you find a listing for a home in Brick you like, DON’T CALL THE LISTING AGENT. The Listing Agent works for the Seller, and has a fiduciary responsibility to get the highest price. You want to work with a REALTOR® whose undivided loyalty is to YOU, and who will negotiate the LOWEST price.
I'd be glad to be your Buyer’s Agent and help you find exactly what you're looking for in Brick- just call, text or email me and I'll get right back to you.
Note: I wrote this article; these are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of Diane Turton, Realtors.
Len
Leonard “Len” Dunikoski, GRI
REALTOR® Associate
Diane Turton Realtors – Rumson Office
8 West River Road
Rumson, NJ 07760
(732) 239-0739 (cell) (732) 530-6686 (office)
