James Thomas Boyer

There seems to be quite a lot of opinion out there about the South Orange NJ Real Estate market.  Much of it does not seem to be based on facts though, but rather guesses and opinion bases on the length of time they have seen the same home for sale signs on their street.

When it comes to the 2009 Home Sales Numbers For South Orange New Jersey the average and median prices are holding up just fine.  The concerning thing is the large drop in the number of homes sold.  In looking at the situation, it is not hard to come to the conclusion that there are a fair number of would be home sellers in South Orange who are holding out, hoping for better prices in the next year or two.  Will they see better prices in a year or two?  That is anyone’s guess, but the likeliehood  is that if we do see better prices in the next few years, the gain will only be marginal at best.  Possibly 2% or 3% against the equally likely chance that we will see prices 2% to 8% lower by then we are today.

I did see something positive in the South Orange Real Estate market yesterday.  A home which I know is a real estate flip.  They purchased it for 260K spent what looks to be about 100K on repairs and upgrades and put it back on the market for 515K.  As of a few days ago, I noticed this property is under contract.  I will report on this South Orange Home Flip once this home closes.

South Orange NJ Home Sales Numbers

First 10 months of 2009 vs first 10 months of 2008

2009  = 115 home sales
2008  = 152 home sales
A reduction of 25%

2009  = $543,527 average home sale price
2008  = $572,513 average home sale price
A reduction of  5.1%

2009  = $499,000 median home sale price
2008  = $522,500 median home sale price
A reduction of 4.5%

As you can see, prices are holding up really well in South Orange, but the number of home sales is way off from last year which was a down year as well.

For other articles about the area visit Essex County New Jersey Gay Realtor

James Boyer
Essex County NJ Realtor
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct

Five homes sold and closed in South Orange New Jersey during the month of September 2009.  Not very many really.  Why so few homes sold?  Could be the higher taxes in South Orange.  Could be that there were very few homes for sale in the price range that is actually selling in the area.  I think it is likely both really.  I have been working with 3 different buyers over the past 4 weeks who were interested in South Orange and Maplewood.  All 3 buyers decided to concentrate their search in Maplewood, and only consider a home in South Orange if it was an exceptional deal. 

Why did they choose Maplewood over South Orange?  In general Maplewood seems to have considerably lower property taxes then South Orange.  That makes a huge difference in home affordability. 

South Orange NJ Home Sales 

    TOWN               LP          STYLE     BRS BTH GAR BSMT     SP         DOM

South Orange  $214,900   Colonial     3     2.1      2       Y     $220,000   141

South Orange  $349,900   Colonial    4      3.1      2       Y     $320,000    0

South Orange  $369,900   Colonial    4      1.1      2        Y     $362,500   24

South Orange  $630,000  Custom    5     3.2       2       Y     $620,000   53

South Orange  $799,000   Colonial   5     3.1       2       Y      $754,000  139

I have to say, I do really like South Orange.  It is such a nice town, with so many things going on.  A diverse population, with the added benefit of having a fairly large gay population.  You know what they say, where the gays go, the homes get fixed up and made more valuable.  I have written about Maplewood and South Orange over at Gay NJ Real Estate / New Jersey Gay Real Estate.  This tends to make South Orange a very interesting and fun town to live in.

 If you would like to find all the South Orange NJ Homes For Sale visit the South Orange page of my website.

If you would like to find all the Maplewood NJ Homes For Sale visit the Maplewood page of my website.

You can call me with your questions at 973-647-0253 Jim

James Boyer
South Orange NJ Realtor
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited
973-539-6300 Office
973-647-0253 Direct