By Jeff Ostroth
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Although spring officially arrives later this month on the 20th, the spring real estate selling season is already underway.

“The spring market basically starts in February,” says Karen Southwell, assistant manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Teaneck. “That’s the early start, but generally, the spring market seems to be the busiest time. Many buyers and sellers want to close on their contracts by summer.”

Turning point?
The residential real estate market took a bit of a breather over the past year or so, but many see hopeful signs of an upturn this spring.

In fact, it may have begun late last year. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), November sales of existing homes in the Northeast shot up 6% from October. While overall sales were still lower than a year ago, the NAR’s Pending Homes Sales Index—a measure of homes contracted for sales—showed future sales trending upward.

“As the housing market recovers from its correction, existing home sales should be rising gradually during 2007,” said David Lereah, the NAR’s chief economist. “It looks like we may have reached the low point for the current cycle in September.”

Local outlook
Southwell has been in the residential real estate business for over 12 years. She offers this observation of the Bergen County market:

“Sellers have had a year to see the change in home prices and some buyers had been waiting because the media said that prices were going to decrease. We do our best to work with sellers to always price their homes competitively.”

Still at historic highs
Southwell adds that in 2006, homes in Bergen County took a little longer to sell, but the issue wasn’t the actual sale prices, and NAR sales figures appear to support that assessment.

For northern New Jersey homeowners who are thinking about selling their houses, the good news is that prices are still at or near their peak.