New Jersey’s real estate professionals reveal true market trends

By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

While the media pummels us with chants of “It’s a buyer’s market,” real estate professionals say activity is still strong.

“If a house is priced correctly for this market, it will sell,” says Francine Craven, a real estate agent for RE/MAX of New Jersey, who has sold houses for several people moving to Cedar Crest.

Historically high
According to Craven, the multiple offer scenario is still in effect, indicating a better than normal activity level.

Home values doubled in the market surges of 2001 and 2005, raising them to a historic high. Part of the media’s hype comes from fluctuations occurring around this trend.

“The present level of home sales is relatively high in historic terms, and we can expect minor movements around this level,” says National Association of Realtors Chief Economist David Lereah.

Craven points out that the people who benefit most from the market now, despite minor ups and downs, are those who bought their house long before the boom. She says older people who want to sell their house right now have already experienced the increase in appreciation from 2001 and 2005. “And in many cases they’ve experienced 50 years of appreciation, including the gogo market of the 1980s.”

Successful sales
Tricia Cassella, move-in coordinator at Cedar Crest, says the experience of people who have sold their homes and moved to Cedar Crest has been generally reflective of Craven’s and Lereah’s claims.

“It’s not as bad as the media’s making it out to be, especially if they’re priced right. Homes are still selling, and I have people who we’re rushing to get approved for move-in because their homes are selling quicker than expected,” she says.