Some surprising statistics are starting to appear giving support to a rebound in the New Jersey home market.
According to RealtyTrac, initial foreclosure filings on New Jersey homes have fallen through the first half of 2009, and government programs are getting some of the credit.
Foreclosure activity has dropped up to 25 percent across the first half of the year compared with the same period the previous year. That bucks the national trend, which shows foreclosures rising in most states.
Some feel the state’s foreclosure rate may be falling because New Jersey was not as exposed to the plague of sub-prime mortgages as other states and Trenton and industry groups have been pushing foreclosure prevention programs so home prices have not fallen as much here as in other areas of the country.
Jeffery Otteau, whose firm Otteau Valuation Group studies the New Jersey real estate market told a recent gathering of New Jersey real estate agents, “while home prices have fallen it has not been as much of a slide as it has been in other parts of the country and is well below the national average. That’s taken away incentive for some borrowers to desert their houses”.
Adding to the more positive outlook is the federal stimulus program. Currently New Jersey is preparing for a deluge of money to do energy-saving home improvements for low-income families. New Jersey, which is to get $118 million in stimulus funding for 13,000 housing units, began this month to provide local agencies with training and technical assistance, and money to buy equipment and vehicles.
A company spokesman for New Jersey-based builder K. Hovnanian said recently at its community in New Windsor, N.Y., several homes were sold in June to people who wanted to close quickly. New home sales rose nearly 30 percent in the northeast over the previous month as buyers took advantage of low interest rates and a first-time home buyer tax credit.
The Commerce Department reported that 29.2 percent more homes were bought in June than in May, adjusted for seasonal buying patterns. It’s the highest level of activity since November, but still down 11.4 percent over the pace of the same month last year.
E. Robert Levy, the executive director of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey said mortgage rates were at record lows in April, and have hovered about 5 percent for much of the year, giving people the opportunity to refinance into more affordable mortgages.
All in all this might be shaping up to be a great time to buy real estate in the Garden State.
Richard Bonn is the owner of Awesome Web Marketing. For more information on Richard please visit http://www.N-J-Homes-For-Sale.com
[tags]NJ Homes for sale, New Jersey Realestate,[/tags]
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