Happy Summer!
The 1st half of 2021 was a very busy time for the Monmouth County NJ real estate market. Inventory remained at record lows and demand was high creating a strong seller’s market. For buyers, securing a home in Monmouth County was exceedingly difficult in the first half of 2021. Because of this, buyers seem to now have scaled back from their frenzied pace at the height of the pandemic, with many showing fatigue with the process and now have other options like vacations and travel to spend their money on.
In the Rumson, Fair Haven, Red Bank and Monmouth Beach markets, we are now seeing a slowing or leveling-off of home prices as buyer look in other areas or simply take a pause. In Little Silver, Oceanport, Holmdel, Sea Bright and Middletown prices are still rising. If you plan to buy a house, you will need to get extra creative with your offers, and patience is a virtue you will need to lean into.
The NYC market has also moved into seller’s market territory as buyers see an opportunity to invest at reduced prices. Prices in New York continue to rise as the city recovers from quarantine.
In the broader market the latest trends seen in May/June point to a shift in real estate activity, implying that we may have passed the peak of this hot housing market, which is good news for home buyers. According to Realtor.com the time on market has slowed for the 1st time in nearly 4 months. The market is still heavily skewed toward sellers, but we may be seeing the first signs of a return to a more balanced real estate market following the most active sales period in years.
