At the end of the first quarter, fewer than 20 homes had sold in Fair Haven, probably because of the winter storms and bad weather we had this year. If you’ve been following my posts you know that you need at least 20 sales in order for comparisons to be statistically significant. Therefore, I’m only going to give you the raw numbers for home sales and median sales prices, but not calculate any percentage changes. Eighteen (18) Fair Haven homes sold in the first quarter this year, compared to 16 last year. The median sale price for those homes was $681,500 this year compared to $577,500 last year (but remember, don’t draw any conclusions).
There was some good news for Fair Haven home owners. If we look at the past 12 months, 15% fewer homes were listed for sale; fewer listings normally result in higher home prices in the near future. In addition, the real estate absorption rate declined from 4.3 months to 3.2 months. The real estate absorption rate is a calculation of how long it would take to sell ALL of the homes on the market if sales continue at the same rate as they have in the past 12 months. In a “normal market”, there’s a 5 – 7 months’ supply of homes on the market; a supply greater than 7 months is considered a “buyer’s market” and a supply less than 5 months is considered a “seller’s market”. Fair Haven was in a “seller’s market” last year and it’s an even stronger “seller’s market” this year.
Here are the 4 key objective indicators in tabular form:
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Fair Haven Home Sales, Jan 1 - Mar 31
2013 2014 Comment
Sales (Demand) 16 18
Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Listings* (Supply) 34 29 15% fewer listings.
Months' Supply* 4.3 3.2 Stronger Demand vs. Supply. (Absorption Rate)
*based on the past 12 months
Median Sale $ $577,500 $681,500
If you’re thinking of buying a home in Fair Haven, the warmer, nicer weather makes it easy for you to go to the public open houses on the weekends. Take advantage of these to look at what’s on the market at the present time, and to get a better idea of what you can expect to find within your budget. While you’re there, pick up a copy of the New Jersey “Consumer Information Statement” which describes the 4 types of relationships you can have with a REALTOR® .
However, please remember that the REALTOR® who’s hosting the open house is the Listing Agent, and works for the SELLER. He/she has a fiduciary responsibility to negotiate the highest price for the seller. You want to work with someone who’ll serve as your Buyer’s Agent, and who will have a fiduciary responsibility to negotiate the lowest price once you make an offer on a house. Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions, or if you’d like to interview me to serve as your Buyer’s Agent.
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)
http://www.rumsonfairhavenhome.com
@ListWithLen
