Mountainside, NJ, is a beautiful borough in northwestern Union County and is home to nearly 6700 people. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Mountainside as its 16th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey, as well as eighth in the 2010 list.
In Mountainside, 74 homes were sold in 2012 with sales peaking in June and resulting in a 19% decrease in inventory at the end of 2012 compared to the beginning of 2012. Only 38 homes are actively for sale in Mountainside creating urgency on the part of buyers. There is 5 months worth of inventory remaining in Mountainside which is much lower than most of Union County. At the current rate of sales, it will take 5 months for the existing listings to sell.
This shortage of inventory is evident when we look at the Average days on Market (DOM). The average Days on Market is an indication of how quickly, or slowly, homes are selling. High demand usually lowers the DOM and high inventory normally increases the DOM.
In January, Mountainside real estate had a slow start with homes taking more than 9 months to sell, on average. That quickly changed and by the summer, homes were selling after only about 2 months on the market and ended 2012 with an average DOM of only 61 days.
List prices in Mountainside have increased pretty steadily over 2012 and ended in December 11% higher than in January. As inventory shrunk, list prices increased with increased seller confidence. Sale prices, on the other hand, it a peak in August and closed 2012 about 12% lower than in January. This may result in a decrease in list prices.
The sale price/list price ratio can be one measure of buyer and seller confidence. A high ratio indicates that homes are selling near their list price and a low ratio indicates that homes are selling below their list price. In Mountainside, the sale price/list price ratio started 2012 at 96% but ended 2012 at 93%, much lower than most of Union County is seeing. As the list prices drop, this should increase over the winter and spring of 2013.
If you’re thinking of buying a home in Mountainside or if you’re thinking of selling your home in Mountainside, you deserve a Realtor who understands the market and can get you the best deal. Please call us at 908-917-4189 for your personal consultation.
For more information about the Mountainside real estate market:
68 Homes Sold in Mountainside so far this year - 07/10/12
Mountainside, NJ Housing Market Trends - 03/18/12
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