Local Real Estate Market Experiences Surge in Sales

A new report released by the Census Department last week said that new home sales in the U.S. posted their largest monthly gain in eight years in June.

Here, locally, real estate agents say that news is ringing true.

“Oh yes, there is a definite increase,” said local real estate agent Lydia Sanchez Flagg. “It seems like a charge.”

Sanchez Flagg, who is a broker with ERA Queen City Realty, said that all of her agency’s recent home listings in Scotch Plains now have contracts on them, and that some have already closed. A few of the homes, like one on Church Avenue, were listed for months and generated very little interest from potential homebuyers.

“Then all of a sudden there was a great push for everything, and it got sold and it closed,” Sanchez Flagg said.

Scotch Plains' Century 21 broker Dorene Levy said she’s experienced a similar surge.

“I can’t speak for all realtors, but I’m pretty busy,” Levy said. “Cranford, Westfield and Scotch Plains are doing exceedingly well, if the houses are priced correctly. In some towns, there are too many houses for sale, but even they’re starting to sell a little bit more.”

Levy said that she closed on six or seven houses in June alone, and that she has several other contracts pending. Sales picked up for her, she said, after the start of the new year.

“The last of half of last year was a little slow for me, but once January hit, I’ve been doing a lot, and all of a sudden I’m really back in full force,” she said. “I expect a banner year.”

The summer is always a popular time for homebuyers, since many are looking to make a move when school is not in session for their children. Both local real estate agents said the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school system is one of the biggest draws for new homeowners.

But, the prices haven’t hurt, either.

Good interest rates and an $8,000 tax rebate for first-time homeowners have helped boost sales as of late, but the prices have also gotten shockingly low.

According to the Census Department, the median sales price of new houses sold in June 2009 was $206,200; the average sales price was $276,900.

Here in Scotch Plains and Fanwood, houses have been going for similarly low rates.

Sanchez Flagg said that, right now, there are 169 single-family houses and townhomes on the market in Scotch Plains and Fanwood. The lowest-priced one in Scotch Plains is a corporate-owned colonial home on Jersey Avenue for $217,000. The lowest in Fanwood is $249,000.

That said, property taxes in both towns are still high. Levy said that while more people are moving into the area, she’s watching whole generations of families leave New Jersey because they can’t handle the taxes anymore.

But, for those who can afford it, Scotch Plains and Fanwood’s proximity to New York City, their access to major highways and their high property values are all big attractions for those looking for a new home.

While Sanchez Flagg said she expects home prices to start leveling off soon, she thinks the increase in sales is a good sign of what’s to come for the local real estate market.

“I think it’s positive, and that it’s going to be positive for awhile now, and through 2010,” she said.