A continuation of soft market conditions is forecast for existing-home sales in the months ahead, with improvement expected by the second half of this year if loan limits are increased, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®. 

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales activity is expected to remain soft through the first half of the year despite a generational low in mortgage interest rates.  “Existing home sales have moved narrowly since last September, but when the full impact of higher loan limits for conventional mortgages begins to impact the market there is likely to be a notable rise in home sales and prices,” he said.

This would seem to indicate that now would be a great time to be a home-buyer in the national marketplace. Let’s take a look at the sales statistics for Bergen County in January to see how the year started off:

January 2008 home sales in Bergen County decreased 25% compared to January 2007, with market times increasing 3%, 104.89 days vs. 101.46 days.

The median selling price increased by $10,000 to $490,000 and the average sales price increased 17% to $721,362.

If you are planning to buy or sell a house in 2008 or want to learn more about Bergen County real estate, please contact me at 201-930-3070 or visit PaulaClarkRealtor.com.