princeton nj area real estate market update

Real Estate is Local! Know the Market Local Market Update August 7, 2009

Market Confidence Meter

The monthly value of homes increased for the first time in nearly three years according to data from the Case-Shiller index.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that new home sales jumped 11 percent, the largest increase in more than eight years.

By spring 2009, the NJ Housing Affordability Index for those buying the median home was 107%. (An index above 100 tells us that a family earning the median income more than qualifies for a mortgage on a median-priced home, assuming a 20% down payment.)

The situation in NJ has only improved since then.

July marked the fifth straight month that Pending Home Sales were up! This is the first time since July 2003 that this has happened.

The number of US jobs lost in July hit the lowest level in almost a year.

Sample Market Absorption Rate Calculation 108 current active listings 12 reported sales in last 30 days = 9 months absorption rate Anytown, NJ 5-6 Months Market Absorption Rate indicates a normal market.

Market Absorption Scale (Absorption Rate in Months) 5-6 months absorption rate indicates a normal market.

Market Scale for Supply & Demand High Supply/Low Demand Low Supply/High Demand Normal Weichert has been studying market conditions for more than 3 decades and has found a direct correlation between market absorption and property values. As absorption rates increase beyond a normal market level of 5-6 months, property values depreciate annually. Beyond 12 month’s absorption rate, we cannot statistically validate the annual depreciation in a market . Market Absorption in Months 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Normal

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings Princeton Boro: All Styles 44 8 5.5 6 (2) 11 25% 1 3 5 Princeton Boro Condo/ Thouses 12 1 12 2 1 4 34% 0 2 0 Princeton Boro Single Family 32 7 4.6 4 (3) 7 22% 1 1 5 Princeton Twp: All Styles 138 20 6.9 21 1 34 25% 14 8 24 Princeton Twp: Condo/ Thouses 21 2 10.5 2 0 4 19% 4 0 3 Princeton Twp: Single Family 117 18 6.5 19 1 30 26% 10 8 21

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings West Windsor: All Styles 107 36 2.9 36 0 25 23% 9 7 38 West Windsor Condo/ T.Houses 17 9 1.8 9 0 4 23 2 2 14 West Windsor 55+ 6 0 99 - - - - - - - West Windsor Single Family 84 27 3.1 27 0 21 25 7 5 24 Lawrence: All Styles 186 37 5.0 50 13 40 21 16 12 32 Lawrence: Condo/ THouses 90 14 6.4 27 13 21 23 4 4 14 Lawrence: 55+ 25 0 99 - - - - - - - Lawrence: Single Family 71 23 2.1 23 0 19 26 12 8 18

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings Ewing All Styles 232 36 6.4 46 10 45 19 17 5 26 Ewing Condo/ T’Houses 45 3 15 8 5 12 29 29% 5 3 Ewing 55+ 1 0 99 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ewing Single Family 186 33 5.6 38 5 33 17 12 2 20 E.Windsor All Styles 180 30 6.0 33 3 35 19 16 9 28 E.Windsor Condo/ T’Houses 89 14 6.3 18 4 14 15 9 6 16 E.Windsor 55+ 23 0 99 - - - - - - - E. Windsor Single Family 68 16 4.2 15 (1) 21 30 7 3 12

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 14 1 30% 3 (2) 0 5 2 10 Hopewell Boro All Styles Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings Hopewell Twp. All Styles 176 18 10 30 12 37 21% 9 4 17 Hopewell Twp. Condo/ T’Houses 27 4 7 6 2 8 30% 1 0 5 Hopewell Twp. 55+ 5 0 99 - - - - - - - Hopewell Twp Single Family 144 14 10 24 10 29 20% 8 4 12

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 8 3 4 24% 13 (1) 7 7 8 55 Single Family 77 24 33 24% 139 32 127 6 95 572 Hamilton All Styles 17 2 3 45% 45 0 21 5 21 100 Hamilton Condo/ T’houses 60 22 30 22% 94 34 106 6 72 430 Hamilton Single Family - - - - - - - 21 2 42 Hamilton: 55+ Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings Robbinsville All Styles 105 18 6 24 6 27 26% 8 6 18 Robbinsville Condo/ T’Houses 50 10 5 17 7 14 28% 4 3 10 Robbinsville 55+ - - - - - - - - - -

Market Activity: Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings PlainsboroAll Styles 76 18 4.2 17 7 12 15% 8 0 23 Plainsboro Condo/ T’Houses 43 12 3.6 11 1 5 11% 6 0 9 Plainsboro 55+ 13 0 99 3 3 1 7% 2 0 1 Plainsboro Single Family 20 6 3.3 3 3 6 3% 0 0 13 Cranbury All Styles 31 2 15.5 10 8 6 19% 2 0 2 Cranbury 55+ 3 0 99 1 1 1 33% 2 0 0 Cranbury Single Family 28 2 14 9 7 5 17% 0 0 2

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings South Brunswick All Styles 211 20 10 47 27 32 15% 25 3 1 South Brunswick Condo/ T’Houses 70 9 7 19 10 10 14% 8 2 1 South Brunswick 55+ 33 0 99 2 2 5 15% 3 0 0 South Brunswick Single Family 108 11 10 21 10 17 15% 14 1 0 Monroe All Styles 505 28 18 89 61 89 18% 41 4 5 Monroe 55+ 335 20 17 56 36 64 19% 26 4 4 Monroe Single Family 172 8 22 33 24 25 15% 15 0 2

Town by Town Analysis 8/3/09 5 1 3 25% 14 7 12 11 5 57 Hightstown Boro All Styles 6 2 2 35% 9 3 5 13 2 26 Pennington All Styles 14 1 30% 3 (2) 0 5 2 10 Hopewell Boro All Styles Towns Active Listings Pending in Last 30 Days Absorption Rate in Months New Listings in 30 Days Net Gain (Loss) to Market Listings Reduced in 30 Days % of Invent. Reduced Expired Listings W/drawn Listings Closed Listings Montgomery All Styles 155 34 4.6 41 7 40 26% 4 7 35 Hillsboro All Styles 252 35 7.2 36 1 67 27% 13 7 40 Rocky Hill All Styles 3 0 99 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 Franklin Twp All Styles 411 66 6.2 91 25 77 19% 20 14 45

As of 8:45 p.m. on August 10 , there are just 112 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes until the expiration of the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit!

Regional Market Update Seminar