Dear Friends and Neighbors:
Happy New Year! It’s time to close the books on the Ridgewood real estate market in 2018 and raise a cheer to a prosperous 2019 ahead.
We enter the new year against a backdrop of shifting sands in the national legislative landscape and turbulence in the financial markets, due in no small part to the Fed’s interest rate hikes. While these uncertainties present challenges to the real estate market, there are several areas that provide a strong foundation for continued market strength, including a strong metro-area economy, clarity on tax law changes as buyers and sellers prepare their tax returns, and favorable demographic trends with the Millennial generation entering the family formation and home buying stage.
We expect the Ridgewood residential market to remain stable in 2019, following a year in which the average home sale price increased 1% to $853,040 and activity remained consistent with recent years at 308 homes sold, despite falling 9% on the year from a decade high of 340 homes sold in 2017.
In terms of house size, we expect the 4-bedroom market to remain the hottest segment after posting sales of 150 units (49% market share) in 2018 with an average sales price year-over-year gain of 10%, to $843,903. We believe the 5- and 6-bedroom segments will remain soft, with the exception of new construction and recent-year major upgrades where the value proposition is more appropriately aligned.
Looking at the various neighborhoods in 2018, Hawes & Willard had the most homes sold at 62 & 60, Ridge & Orchard had the highest average sales price, each at over $1.0 mn, Somerville had the most active market for 3 bedrooms at 19 homes sold and Travell had the best value for 4 bedrooms ($682,945). We expect these trends to broadly continue in 2019.
In terms of house size, we expect the 4-bedroom market to remain the hottest segment after posting sales of 150 units (49% market share) in 2018 with an average sales price year-over-year gain of 10%, to $843,903. We believe the 5- and 6-bedroom segments will remain soft, with the exception of new construction and recent-year major upgrades where the value proposition is more appropriately aligned.
Looking at the various neighborhoods in 2018, Hawes & Willard had the most homes sold at 62 & 60, Ridge & Orchard had the highest average sales price, each at over $1.0 mn, Somerville had the most active market for 3 bedrooms at 19 homes sold and Travell had the best value for 4 bedrooms ($682,945). We expect these trends to broadly continue in 2019.
As for current inventory, there are 59 homes on the market with an average of 84.9 days on the market, and the absorption rate stands at 2.3 months based on the monthly average of 2018 sales. Similar to sales trends over the year, the 3 and 4 bedroom market up to $1.0 mn remains strong in terms of days-on-market and absorption rate and the 5 and 6+ bedroom market above $1.2 mn continues to show softness.
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In 2018, my customized marketing strategies for home sellers and keen understanding of what buyers are looking for have resulted in the following successes;
- 21 transactions in Bergen County totaling $24.5 mn, including 18 in Ridgewood totaling $20.8 mn (rank #2)
- 9 Ridgewood listings totaling $9.8 mn (rank #3)
- 9 Ridgewood buyer's representations totaling $11.0 mn (rank #2).
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