Although Marlboro home sales are strong, the Colts Neck real estate market is still struggling for direction. The good news is that at the end of 7 months, more homes have sold than a year ago and the median sales price is slightly higher. The bad news is that more homes are on the market, and the real estate absorption rate is higher.
When people ask, “How’s the market?”, I always like to give them the 4 key objective indicators that we use. Here are Colts Neck’s 7 Months Year-to-Date 2013 statistics:
Sales: 53 in 2012, 66 in 2013 (+25%)
Find out what's happening in Marlboro-Coltsneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Listings: 100 in 2012, 116 at the end of July 2013 (+16%)
Median Sales Price: $615,000 in 2012, $631,950 in 2013 (+3%)
Find out what's happening in Marlboro-Coltsneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Absorption Rate: 10.7 months in 2012, 11.3 months now (weaker Demand vs. Supply)
The number of sales and the median sale price are good news for home sellers, while the number of listings and the absorption rate are good news for home buyers.
The real estate absorption rate is a calculation of how long it would take to sell all of the houses currently on the market, if houses continue to sell at the current (12 month) rate. An absorption rate of 5 – 7 months is considered a “normal market”, while greater than 7 months is considered a “buyer’s market” and less than 5 months is considered a “seller’s market”. Well, even though median prices are 3% higher, according to the absorption rate, Colts Neck continues to be a “buyer’s market”. Next door in Marlboro, the absorption rate is 4.8 months and the median price has increased 6%.
So what’s going to happen to Colts Neck home prices in the next few months? Two of our four indicators are up and two are down. If you’re thinking of buying a home in Colts Neck, you can feel good that you’re looking at a desirable, upscale town that’s still in a “buyer’s market”. You have more homes to choose from and your REALTOR® should be able to negotiate a good deal for you. However, mortgage rates are already up slightly, so you might want to buy sooner rather than later. Let me know what you’re looking for and I’ll be glad to help you find the right Colts Neck home before mortgage rates go up some more.
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)
