Hot Spots in the Housing Market

It may be freezing outside, but both the Chathams are on the "hot list" of New Jersey towns to buy a home in.

Jeffrey Otteau of the Otteau Valuation Group lists 27 towns carrying less than six months inventory of homes on the market, six months being generally considered the “tipping point” for housing market health.

At the end of 2010, Chatham Borough ranked second on Otteau's list with just 3.3 months supply of homes averaged over the last quarter of 2010. Chatham Township ranked seventh with 3.9 months supply. Having such a quick turnover time on the market helps keep the value of homes high, since a high supply of homes on the market is generally proportional to price depreciation.

How does this “hot spot” positioning translate into what is happening in the Chatham housing market right now?

Last month there were 38 homes on the market in the borough and 71 in Chatham Township. Both figures are significantly lower than in the summer months but this could be due to seasonal factors. Generally the winter months are slower than the spring months.

In Chatham Borough last month, eight homes went under contract and seven homes closed. In Chatham Township 10 homes went under contract and six homes closed.

For Chatham Borough January 2011 has been the third busiest month out of the last six months which offers an encouraging start to the spring market. Meanwhile, activity has been slower in Chatham Township where activity in January 2011 has been the fifth busiest or next to the slowest month out of six months.

So it has been a mixed start to the new year but hopefully spring and encouraging news can help to thaw some of the wintery chill.

Chatham Patch brings you a list of each week, so anytime you want to know what houses are on the market, just check your first source for all news from the Chathams!