You're a Realtor, You Must Be Super Busy Right Now

[Kevin Hill]

It's all over the news, real estate prices are jumping up. All the residents of New York City are escaping and moving to New Jersey. Homes are selling fast. So recently and often, my friends say to me, "you must be super busy right now". I wish I could say I was super busy juggling a ton of listings, writing up contracts for buyers, and closing deals left & right. I'm busy, just not with sales right now. I know this is strange, a Realtor not portraying themself rolling in commission checks and bragging on social media about their latest listings.

For one, I have become mainly an REO agent over the past 4 years. Due to COVID-19, the Bergen County Sheriff's department and throughout New Jersey, have put all foreclosures and evictions on hold. As of this writing, sheriff foreclosure sales have been delayed to at least mid-October 2020. I suspect this is going to get pushed back even further due to government intervention. Foreclosure rates have been way down so far in 2020. It takes a long time to foreclose in New Jersey, so the effects of mortgage forbearances, unemployment, overpaying in a hot market, and homeowners cashing  out all their equity will take a few years to show up on county sheriff's foreclosure dockets.

Another reason are sales are actually way down. Let's check out the statistics (from the New Jersey MLS). These are the stats from 2019 to June 2020 in Bergen County:

Total single family sales are down 12% (3126 sales down to 2,749)

Total 2-4 family sales are down 28%(!) (347 sales down to 249)

Total condo sales are down 28%(!) (1205 to 868)

The large decline in total sales is due to the lack of available inventory and that in part is helping to drive up prices. Simple lack of supply leads to increase in price. Mortgage rates are also very low. More Bergen County stats:

Average single family home price has increased by 12%.

Average 2-4 family home price has increased by 11%.

Average condo home price has increased by 4%.

Yes I am busy, but it's with lead generation. Contacting my database, writing blog articles, posting on LinkedIn, posting on social media, driving for dollars, creating direct mail to send to homeowners in default, and valuations. All dedicated to getting new listings, because there is an overabundance of buyers, but not enough homes to meet the demand.