Michael's Bergen Blog

Here's a startling statistic - the median home price over the last 30 days in northwest Bergen County has dropped 21% from the same period a year ago. However, the average home price dropped just 8%. One explanation for this disparity is that less expensive homes have been selling better than hig...

Come explore this posh Glen Rock retreat. A complete renovation has turned this residence into a three bedroom, three bathroom palace. The front hall leads to a columned living room with fireplace and tray ceiling. Wainscoting and another tray ceiling adorn the dining room. The kitchen is finishe...

This week we take a look at how deeply the real estate market has been affected by the economic downturn. Back in early September, before the AIG rescue and the bank mergers, the real estate market was healthy. The number of homes under contract in northwest Bergen was running slightly ahead of l...

The inventory level of homes on the market in Bergen has been creeping up over the last few months. In Ridgewood/Glen Rock there's a 7.3 month supply, in northwest Bergen it stands at 8.5 months and in Bergen as a whole it's 9.8 months. A balanced market is considered 4-6 months. While somewhat h...

While there certainly has been a slowing of the real estate market over the last couple of weeks, it certainly has not dried up. The number of homes going into attorney review from October 1-9 in northwest Bergen is down 23% from last year. In the Pascack Valley, the decrease in activity was only...

The question of the hour, besides whether or not the economy will collapse, is how local real estate prices are going to be affected. Until now, Bergen County has weathered the changing economy quite well. The decline in home prices has been much smaller than in most other areas of the country. B...

The last 30 days have been very busy in local real estate. The number of homes under contract in northwest Bergen has risen 24% from the same period last year, and is up 13% from 2006. These statistics are quite remarkable given the condition of the economy. One explanation is that buyers have be...

The Bergen Record and NorthJersey.com need to do their homework. For almost two years I've been publishing weekly sales data for all of Bergen County on my site at http://BuyingInBergen.com. Yet if you go to NorthJersey.com, they say their's is "the most up to date free site for home sales in Ber...

I'm sure a number of readers will have trouble believing the following statistics. This data flies in the face of everything we've been reading in the media for the last six months about falling real estate values. In defense of the credibility of these statistics, they are generated by the New J...

According to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, the inventory of homes on the market stood at 11.2 months at the end of the first quarter, certainly an oversupply. In contrast, Bergen County inventory stood at 9.8 months, also an oversupply but closer to a balanced mar...