The garden state is home to one of the largest housing markets for a state of its size. The 2002 US census showed that there were a total of 3,372,572 housing units in the state. The home ownership rate for New Jersey is right around the national average, if slightly lower. This fluctuates however, and in the most recent census data the home ownership rate was 65.6%, only .6% off from the national average of 66.2%. This shows the fluctuations in the home ownership rate to be fairly mild, and that it tends to follow the national trends. The median value of a home in New Jersey is significantly higher than the national average. The 2000 US census showed that the median value of an owner occupied housing unit in New Jersey was $170,800, compared with the national average that year of $119,600. Home prices this high are generally affordable in New Jersey, due to the higher average income. The median household income in New Jersey listed in the 1999 census was $55,146, while the national average for that same year was only $41,994. A large housing market and an affluent economy translates into New Jersey being an attractive place to purchase a home.
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Real estate agents and economists who closely monitor housing markets report that New Jersey’s market is starting to shift to the buyers’ advantage.
New data in a report released this week from the National Association of Realtors indicate that sales of existing homes slowed in the first three months of 2006, although prices were still up significantly compared with prices listed during the same period last year.
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The rapid erosion in housing affordability was caused by the boom in the real estate market. The housing boom saw mortgage rates increase and house prices have escalated rapidly over the past few years. This constant growth in the market is constraining the demand for housing, With a fall in demand, the balance will shift from a booming sellers market and we will see the beginning of a buyer led marketplace.
This cooling of the market can be seen in New Jersey already, the National Association of Realtors’ data said 8.1 percent fewer houses were sold in New Jersey in the first quarter of 2006 than in the same period a year earlier.
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