Northeast posts 20 percent home sales drop in March (Passaic: loans, layoffs)

[Lusitan]

NorthJersey.com: Northeast posts 20 percent home sales drop in March (http://www.northjersey.com/business/March_home_sales_to_be_released_at_10_am.html?c=y& page=1 - broken link)

NEW YORK -- The Northeast recorded the worst home sales and price declines of all regions in the country in March, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, as layoffs exert a drag on the area’s housing markets.

Northeast home sales dropped 20 percent last month from the year before, and median sales price tumbled 18 percent to $231,700.
...
Closer to home, sales volume declined 12 percent and prices dropped 13 percent in Bergen County in the first quarter of 2009 from the same period a year ago, according to the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service .... In nearby Passaic, N.J., home to many New York workers, February sales plunged 31 percent, while prices dropped more than 17 percent from a year ago to $292,000.

[JG183]

March.

just one month...

April indicators look very good, so it will turn out to be 3 out of 4 months in '09 on the upswing

[Bergenite]

It is rebounding nicely. Hope it's not just a blip.

[davenj08]

i believe so far market in NJ has dropped by about 20-25% off the peak which would be huge under normal circumstances but in perspective of a bubble, it is not a lot. if prices stabilize now or start climbing, the bubble would persist and then eventually inflate within a decade.

it would benefit everyone in long run if prices correct to the right level.

[CaptainNJ]

government can not correct the problem. government intrustion can only make things worse.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Lusitan

NorthJersey.com: Northeast posts 20 percent home sales drop in March (http://www.northjersey.com/business/March_home_sales_to_be_released_at_10_am.html?c=y& page=1 - broken link)

NEW YORK -- The Northeast recorded the worst home sales and price declines of all regions in the country in March, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, as layoffs exert a drag on the area’s housing markets.

Northeast home sales dropped 20 percent last month from the year before, and median sales price tumbled 18 percent to $231,700.
...
Closer to home, sales volume declined 12 percent and prices dropped 13 percent in Bergen County in the first quarter of 2009 from the same period a year ago, according to the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service .... In nearby Passaic, N.J., home to many New York workers, February sales plunged 31 percent, while prices dropped more than 17 percent from a year ago to $292,000.

Bergen County. Logical. North Jersey - 1. Sucks to me, 2. is likely to have a harder landing.

[TylerJAX]

Originally Posted by Bergenite

It is rebounding nicely. Hope it's not just a blip.

No offense, but as a college student with descent savings and looking to buy in North Jersey next year, I want your house to lose more value.

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by TylerJAX

No offense, but as a college student with descent savings and looking to buy in North Jersey next year, I want your house to lose more value.

exactly. how do these folks expect anyone that is under 35 years old to be able to buy a house in Northern Jersey? These prices are out of control and I hope they continue to fall (which they will).

[JG183]

Originally Posted by TylerJAX

No offense, but as a college student with descent savings and looking to buy in North Jersey next year, I want your house to lose more value.

at least you admit it, many (if not all) of the super-bears who post here have the same motivation for the incessant threads on pricing.

however...

"sales of new single-family homes dropped, but inventories plummeted at a record pace"

US STOCKS-Earnings, banks lift Wall St; Nasdaq up for 7th week | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by TylerJAX

No offense, but as a college student with descent savings and looking to buy in North Jersey next year, I want your house to lose more value.

im with you. prices went up way too fast because loans were cheap and easy to get. that created an inappropriate amount of competition for houses which drove prices up. executives making a decent living had to compete with mexicans without jobs for 500k homes.

now you have morons in government like obama trying to go back to the horrible situation and "free up money for the banks to lend." thats code for "start lending irresponsibly." the market is correcting and the government is trying to destroy it still.