Slow housing market in Cherry Hill NJ? (Union, Millville: to rent, houses)

[nanava]

There is a possibility we may be moving to the Philly area and I find myself gravitating toward Cherry Hill NJ for many reasons. But I've noticed the housing market seems to be very slow. There are many nice looking houses (at least as they appear online) that have been on the market for over 100 days, some for over 200 days, some for over 400 days! Why is the market so slow there? It makes me concerned about investing in a home there in case we end up having to leave later and are stuck with an overpriced house that won't sell.

[sj08054]

Originally Posted by nanava

There is a possibility we may be moving to the Philly area and I find myself gravitating toward Cherry Hill NJ for many reasons. But I've noticed the housing market seems to be very slow. There are many nice looking houses (at least as they appear online) that have been on the market for over 100 days, some for over 200 days, some for over 400 days! Why is the market so slow there? It makes me concerned about investing in a home there in case we end up having to leave later and are stuck with an overpriced house that won't sell.

It is not unusual to see homes on market for 100 days at this time of the year. Nothing much happens in Nov and the winter months. Cherry Hill is known for their high taxes but good school. If you are looking to buy in SJ or Cherry Hill, I certainly hope you are not looking at it as "investing".

[RightonWalnut]

South Jersey has been pretty slow. In Philadelphia city limits and in the PA suburbs, things are moving much quicker.

[nanava]

Originally Posted by sj08054

If you are looking to buy in SJ or Cherry Hill, I certainly hope you are not looking at it as "investing".

If you don't look at a house as an investment, then why bother buying? Obviously there are other reasons, but I wouldn't want to buy a house in an area and then five years down the line, have it take 200+ days to sell and lose money on it. I agree it's a slow time of year, but it still seems an excessive number of houses on the market for a very long time.

I just bring it up because while we are gravitating toward CH for many other reasons, it may be reason enough to take it off the list?

Maybe things will start to change in a few weeks.

[sj08054]

Originally Posted by nanava

If you don't look at a house as an investment, then why bother buying? Obviously there are other reasons, but I wouldn't want to buy a house in an area and then five years down the line, have it take 200+ days to sell and lose money on it. I agree it's a slow time of year, but it still seems an excessive number of houses on the market for a very long time.

I just bring it up because while we are gravitating toward CH for many other reasons, it may be reason enough to take it off the list?

Maybe things will start to change in a few weeks.

Sometimes it doesn't make sense to buy. If one isn't sure about long term renting in the area where you have access to good school is a possibilities but you may be limited in your options when it comes to renting. Owning a $400K-$500K homes in Cherry Hill isn't cheap with regards to property tax.

Remember, buying and selling homes cost money. That money usually come from buy/seller. If you want to buy a house as an investment, you buy a fixer upper. Fix it up and live in for a few years to avoid capital gains. That's an investment! You buy an expensive SFH in high carrying cost area, you don't expect to make money.

A house that isn't price properly or listed at the wrong time may take 200+ days to finish the sale.

[NJBoy3]

I live in Millville. We have seen nice houses in a very good neighborhood on the market for 2+ years. South Jersey is slow.

[elsasmom]

We've been watching the CH housing market like hawks for the last 12 months. It was very slow over the winter months and like usual since mid-March the houses have been listed as pending in a couple weeks or less. Several houses that had been on the market for 100+ days or re-listed after winter were under contract in a matter of weeks. I suspect it was mostly just the time of year with the occasional problem house ("as-is", busy street, etc.) that you saw.

[Keroberos]

I have to agree with Elsasmom. I've been keeping an eye on certain neighborhoods in Cherry Hill, and I have seen a spike in activity and much shorter times on market since mid-March. I'm glad I bought in November.

[NJBoy3]

Update - I live in Millville in a very good neighborhood on Union Lake. Two houses just sold and at good prices.

[Ms_Christina]

Things are definitely looking up. Yes, some areas are slower than others but it's a steady growth with very few dips. We will be selling property sooner than we thought.