Real estate activity in New Jersey slowed as 2024 came to an end, with the state seeing fewer homes hitting the market and active listings staying on the market for longer. And while many counties continued to see a rise in home prices during the month, several saw home prices decrease.
Despite this slowdown in New Jersey, though, December marked the 14th consecutive month of inventory growth, Realtor.com reported. But while there were 22% more homes actively for sale than a year earlier, inventory levels were at their lowest since June due to the season’s slowing activity.
Homes for sale stayed on the market for about 70 days, which is nine more days than a year earlier and eight more days than the previous month, Realtor.com said. It made this December the slowest in five years and the slowest month since January 2023.
The Federal Reserve also announced a third interest rate cut in December, lowering its target interest rate range to 4.25% to 4.5%. With these cuts, rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages remained in the 6% to mid-7% range at the end of the month, Bankrate reported.
More: Can NJ homebuyers feel more confident in 2025? What experts predict for the market
This is how North Jersey’s real estate market performed in December, based on data from Realtor.com.
How much has North Jersey’s housing inventory changed?
Twelve of New Jersey’s 21 counties had a decrease in new listings compared with December 2023, while all 21 counties had a decrease in new listings compared with November 2024.
In North Jersey, Morris was the only county that had more new listings in December than a year earlier. The county had 212 new listings during the month, which was a 39.47% increase when compared with the year before. All other North Jersey counties saw a decrease in new listings from the previous year:
Compared with November, all six North Jersey counties had a decrease in new listings.
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How long are North Jersey homes staying on the market?
When compared with December 2023, 14 New Jersey counties had active listings stay on the market for a longer period. And when compared with November 2024, active listings stayed on the market longer in every New Jersey county.
At 51 days, Essex was the only North Jersey county that saw no change in the number of days that homes stayed on the market in December compared with the year before. With this, North Jersey’s other five counties had listings stay on the market for fewer days in December than this time last year.
Passaic: 45 days (-11.76%).
Morris: 51 days (-0.98%).
Sussex: 58 days (-0.43%).
When compared with the previous month, active listings in all six North Jersey counties stayed on the market for longer in December.
What about North Jersey median home prices?
Median home prices across the nation are slightly lower than they were this time of year in 2023 and 2022.
Of New Jersey’s 21 counties, 19 had an increase in median listing prices from December 2023. However, when compared with November 2024, 15 counties had a decrease in median listing prices.
Hudson was the only North Jersey county to see a decrease in median listing prices compared with a year earlier. The county had a 10.53% decrease, with a median listing price of $607,500. Otherwise, all other North Jersey counties saw prices increase.
Bergen: $797,194 (2.21%).
Passaic: $521,250 (8.72%).
Morris: $699,450 (0.64%).
Essex: $549,500 (10.12%).
Compared with November 2024, Bergen was the only county in North Jersey that saw median listing prices increase. The county had a 3.4% increase from the month before, but median listing prices decreased in all other North Jersey counties during this time.
Here’s how all 21 New Jersey counties performed in December, according to Realtor.com:
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ real estate: How market performed in December 2024
