Realtors: Bidding Wars Are Back! Tri-State Area Real Estate Market Is Recovering
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- It contributed to the global recession, and economists say it's what will indicate if the economy is truly on the mend.
So how is the real estate market doing in our area?
CBS 2's Don Dahler saw a gorgeous house in Montclair on Tuesday. It was a perfect example of what's happening in the housing market around these parts.
The enormous Elizabethan Tudor, built in 1919, has seven bedrooms, six baths and a magnificent copper Florentine ceiling. It features not one, but four kitchens, including one in the carriage house.
The one-acre lot has a designer swimming pool, a Koi pond, meticulous landscaping, and a tennis court in one of the most desirable towns in New Jersey. And the price has dropped one-third from what the owners would have asked just five years ago.
Real estate agent Marie Dasaro said the interest in similar houses, and all price ranges, has heated up.
"A lot of houses have been selling above asking price, so we've actually had bidding wars," Dasaro said.
Talking to agents all around the Tri-State Area, Dahler heard the same thing. Low interest rates and record low prices have begun to bring buyers in from the sidelines.
Dahler spoke to more than a dozen real estate agents and all of them said that they're seeing easily a 20 to 25 percent increase in the number of people who are interested in buying.
"This has been a slow recovery, but everything is really pushing in the right direction," said Dottie Herman, President and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman Realty.
Herman said prices have reached bottom and are on their way up.
"Now the entry level market's really coming back, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fear that interest rates, as soon as we start to do better, will rise," Herman said.
So whether you're a first timer or looking to go more upscale, now is the time to move. Because a house like the one in Montclair, which now lists for just a little more than $2 million, will probably be grabbed up quickly.
The number of houses for sale in the area has declined since last year by almost 20 percent. Realtors said that's because a lot of owners pulled their properties off the market until the prices reached bottom. Most experts said that has now happened.
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