New Jersey Home Prices See Sharp Yearly Increase

NEW JERSEY — Shopping for a new house on a budget? Finding the right home at the right price may prove challenging in New Jersey as home prices continue to rise here and in other parts of the United States, according to a new report by online real estate company Redfin.

The report released Thursday analyzed the conditions of the U.S. housing market in July 2021 compared with July 2020. To compile the report, Redfin looked at median home prices by metro region, the number of homes sold, new listings and more.

In New Jersey communities including Camden, New Brunswick and Newark, the median price of homes sold in July increased 15.3 percent in Camden, 16.4 percent in New Brunswick and 20.2 percent in Newark from a year earlier. The median home price in Camden was $265,000, in New Brunswick it was $425,000 and in Newark, $493,000.

Despite a rise in home prices, the number of houses sold in Camden dropped compared with this time last year, though they rose in New Brunswick and Newark. According to the report, 2,032 homes in Camden were sold in July, an 8.3 percent decrease from July 2020 and an 8.6 percent decrease from the prior month. In New Brunswick, 3,790 homes sold, which was a 2.2 percent increase from this time last year, but a 4 percent decrease from the previous month. Newark showed a similar trend, with 2,821 houses sold in July, for an 8 percent increase and 7.6 percent decrease from the last month.

July marked the 12th consecutive month of increasing home prices nationwide, according to Redfin’s data. By month’s end, the median price of homes sold across the country reached a new all-time high of $385,600, up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier.

July 2021 also marked the fourth month in a row in which no metros saw price declines.

Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said home prices are soaring at an “astonishing rate,” making it even harder for potential buyers to afford homeownership.

For those who can afford to buy a home, the market is slowly becoming less competitive, Fairweather said in the report. This means potential homebuyers will have more options, but it might be worth waiting to find the right home at the right price.

“Demand has softened enough that homes aren’t flying off the market quite as fast or for as much above list price as they were in the spring,” Fairweather said. “Mortgage rates are remaining about as low as they’ve ever been, so buyers who lose out in a bidding war don’t have to fear that they’ve missed their window to buy.”

Explaining the jump in home prices is proving more difficult.

“Now that we’re a year out from the post-lockdown rebound, we can no longer explain away the enormous price growth by pointing to the pandemic’s earliest impacts on the housing market,” Fairweather said.

Here are a couple of additional numbers that illustrate how the Camden, New Brunswick and Newark housing markets have changed amid the coronavirus pandemic:

New home listings (Camden)

• July 2021 listings: 1,930
• Month-over-month change: 15.1 Percent Drop
• Yearly change: 15.7 Percent Decline

All homes for sale (Camden)

• July 2021 listings: 4,093
• Month-over-month change: 8.4 Percent Drop
• Yearly change: 11.5 Percent Decline

• New home listings (New Brunswick)
• July 2021 listings: 4,384
• Month-over-month change: 9.2 Percent Decline
• Yearly change: 16.2 Percent Drop

• All homes for sale (New Brunswick)
• July 2021 listings: 10,540
• Month-over-month change: 0.2 Percent Increase
• Yearly change: 24 Percent Drop

• New home listings (Newark)
• July 2021 listings: 3,027
• Month-over-month change: 14.7 Percent Drop
• Yearly change: 14.7 Percent Drop

• All homes for sale (Newark)
• July 2021 listings: 8,892
• Month-over-month change: 1.1 Percent Increase
• Yearly change: 13.2 Percent Decline

When it comes to home prices, Austin, Texas, had the nation’s highest price growth. Home prices there increased 38.6 percent since last year to $485,000. Phoenix had the second highest year-over-year growth at 28.1 percent, followed by Salt Lake City at 26.1 percent.

Meanwhile, New York led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 79 percent. Richmond, Virginia, saw the largest decline in sales, falling 52.3 percent.

As for options, Milwaukee had the highest increase in the number of homes for sale, up 3.1 percent from last year, followed by Columbus, Ohio, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

See the full report on Redfin’s website.