Finally, Some Positive News In The Market

This article made the front page of the Asbury Park Press today. While it is positive news, they do their best to spin it negatively, but I find the fact that we have stopped losing ground in home prices to be a positive sign. Especially when nationally prices fell another 5% in the same time period versus our half-percent gain.

Here is the full story:

Home prices in Ocean and Monmouth counties rise a notch
By David P. Willis • BUSINESS WRITER • February 14, 2008

Home prices in the area that includes Monmouth and Ocean counties inched up in the fourth quarter, rising by 0.5 percent from the same period the year before, the National Association of Realtors said today.

The median sale price for an existing single-family home in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Somerset counties was $370,300, up $1,800, from $368,500 in the same quarter in 2006, the association said. The median means that half the homes in the area sold for more and half sold for less.

But the slight increase is not an indication the housing market is turning around, said economist James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University."

The market was virtually flat," said Hughes said. "It suggests that the market is far from rebounding and it may signal that there is weakness ahead."

Other areas of New Jersey saw steeper increases by percentage.

For instance, the median price in an area that includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex and Union counties rose 5.3 percent, and the price in the region that includes Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties rose 3.6 percent. Atlantic County's median price rose 10.7 percent. Nationally, prices fell 5.8 percent, according to the real estate association.

If you are a home buyer or seller interested in being interviewed on this topic for an Asbury Park Press story, please contact David P. Willis at (732) 643-4039 or dwillis@app.com.