What Is Selling In Basking Ridge? Real Estate Update

"Buy now, get your tax credit!"  I am getting a little tired of hearing that repeated over and over and over again; and I imagine that I am not the only one.  Many real estate practitioners are concerned about what direction the market will take when the credit expires at the end of this week and I am sure there are sellers with homes on the market – who listened to their agent tell them that their window of opportunity was going to close after April 30 – who are wondering what will happen next. 

While I certainly believe that many sales were generated as a result of this wonderful incentive and I know there are sellers out there who were lucky enough to benefit by listing their homes with enough time to benefit from selling to a buyer who took advantage of it.  But, even without the tax credit, conditions are ideal to buy a home.  Interest rates are still low, prices have come down to reasonable levels, inventory is high (in some areas) and as the as the economy continues to recover people who were conservative and have waited to buy a home will enter the market. Furthermore, Basking Ridge is a fantastic community – as we all know – with terrific schools (even with our budget defeat) and an easy NYC commute.  I can't imagine a time when there won't be people who want to move here, when that day comes, I will hang up my real estate license!

There are agents in my office working with buyers who have specifically stated that they are waiting for the "tax credit frenzy" to subside; I have met people at open houses who have indicated that the tax credit wasn't enough of an incentive to make them settle for a home that wasn't perfect. Babies will be born, people will get married, or retire, or change jobs.  There are a million reasons that people make a move – the market will not dive just because the tax credit expires.  I promise.

As always, here is a list of what has closed since the beginning of April (LP/SP):

92  Potomac Dr  $240,000/$220,000, Spring Ridge
234  Irving Pl  $245,000/$240,000, Spring Ridge
215  Alexandria Way  $250,000/$236,000, Spring Ridge
90  Jamestown Rd  $254,900/$252,450, Spring Ridge
3  Charleston Ct  $489,000/$465,000, The Hamiltons
31  Ridge St  $499,000/$450,000, Single Family
16  Fairbanks Ln  $539,000/$520,000, The Barons
27  Shepard Way  $619,000/$625,000, Single Family
489  King George Rd  $650,000/$625,000, Single Family
21  Martinsville Rd  $719,900/$650,000, Single Family
117  Fieldstone Dr  $750,000/$732,500, Single Family
13  Witherspoon Ln  $830,000/$807,000, Amherst Mews
47  Addison Dr  $849,900/$829,000, Single Family
33  Summit Dr  $1,030,000/$990,000, Single Family
9  Caldwell Ct  $1,299,000/$1,258,500, Single Family – The Hills
10  Butternut Ln  $1,800,000/$1,625,000, Single Family
126 Alexandria Way $247,000/$240,000, Spring Ridge
265 Penns Way, $320,000/309,000, Society Hill
93 Sycamore Court, $380,000/$375,000, The Cedars

Market absorption in town has dipped below four months – that means that based on the number of buyers in the past thirty days, it would take only four months to sell all the listings currently available.  It will be interesting to see if that number changes much in the next few weeks.  We typically see a summer slow down starting in June, experts have predicted that will come a little early this year.  But I am hopeful – based on everything I've stated above – that our spring will remain strong right through 'til Summer!

Jennifer Blanchard is a sales associate with Weichert Realtors in Basking Ridge. She writes a real estate blog at http://basking-ridge-real-estate.com/blog.