New Jersey saw renewed activity in its housing markets last month as both inventory and buyer demand grew in the Garden State, New Jersey Realtors said Monday.
Closed sales of single-family homes rose 3.3% year over year in June to 5,516 from 5,340, according to the trade group's latest market report. Closed sales of townhouses and condominiums jumped nearly 12% year over year to 1,966 from 1,757, the numbers show.
New Jersey's median sales price for single-family homes rose 6.8% to $625,000 last month compared to June 2024, when it was $585,000, the group said, adding that inventory for those types of properties increased nearly 9%.
Those figures are pushing buyers and sellers into a "dynamic summer selling season," the organizaton said.
"The June data shows our market moving toward better balance," Kathy Morin, New Jersey Realtors president and an agent for ReMax, said in a statement. "As inventory expands, buyers have more to choose from, and the consistent demand continues to support strong property values across New Jersey."
The state's real estate market is in transition. A graduated mansion tax took effect in July that agents said is hurting sales. Meanwhile, local municipalities are racing against the clock to meet affordable housing development deadlines mandated by state lawmakers.
New Jersey residents pay the nation's highest effective property tax rate.
All told, buyers purchased roughly 8,300 housing units across the state in June — including single-family, condo or townhouses and units inside 55-plus communities, according to the New Jersey Realtors' report.
Condos are 'a natural transition'
The median sales price for townhouses and condos in New Jersey declined 1.4% year over year in June to $420,000 from $426,000. Inventory of condo units, however, jumped 28% in June — a trend that could attract more first-time buyers to that property type, the group noted.
Condo sales have likely spiked for a couple reasons, said Keller Williams agent Tezeta Roro.
"Condos and townhomes become the options for first-time buyers who are having a hard time competing in the single-family starter market, where the competition is the most stiff," Roro told Homes.com. "It is also a natural transition for empty nesters and older adults who no longer need as much space or are willing to keep up with maintenance and taxes."
Inventory might be rising in some parts of New Jersey, but in Essex County, Roro's primary territory, many homeowners are hesitant to list their property because of today's near-7% mortgage rates, she said.
"I have had several conversations where folks are not willing to sell a home with a 2% or 3% interest rate to buy with 6% or 7% rate," she said. "Even though there is a real need to move, say, because of school districts or a home being too large to maintain, some may go as far as renting out their current home before deciding to sell."
