PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY

Kevin Post

Maybe last year wasn’t so bad for southern New Jersey’s real estate market

The widespread belief that real estate had a terrible 2009 is being disproved by the data for the southern New Jersey market released this week.

Compared with the prior year, sales were almost even in Atlantic and Cape May counties, and significantly higher in Cumberland County. Prices fell, but by single digits, and the time it took to sell homes remained about the same.

Real estate offices said the second half of 2009 in particular was strong, and the momentum is continuing into this year.
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Prudential Fox & Roach’s Home Expert Market Report this week showed 551 home sales in Cumberland County in 2009, 21 percent more than the year before. The median price fell 8.3 percent to $154,000, and the average days a house spent on the market increased from 104 to 113.
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In Atlantic County, home sales fell 1 percent to 2,602 last year, according to the market report. The median price dropped 9.6 percent and days on the market inched up from 115 in 2008 to 119 in 2009.
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In Cape May County, which isn’t covered by the market report, the county Association of Realtors reported this week that 2009 sales dropped 1 percent to 1,879. The median price fell 8.1 percent to $296,000 and average time on the market was unchanged at 221 days.
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For all of southern New Jersey, the report said sales were down 1.4 percent in 2009 and the median price declined 8.3 percent to $199,000 from the prior year.