Eight NJ counties in high 50 most weak U.S. housing markets – New Jersey 101.5 FM

Whereas the Federal Reserve’s third straight three-quarter proportion level rate of interest hike was the flashy economic headline Wednesday, the Fed’s actions each already taken and nonetheless to come back are weighing on traits in a housing market that, till lately, was traditionally sizzling.

Imminent failure — or a housing crash just like the one seen 15 years in the past — is not predicted if the US enters a recession, in keeping with Rick Sharga, govt vice chairman of market intelligence for ATTOM Knowledge Options, however sure markets might be notably weak.

Rely eight New Jersey counties inside the New York or Philadelphia metro areas amongst these, as they ranked among the many high 50 most weak housing markets within the nation in an ATTOM report launched final week.

Bergen, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Ocean, Passaic, Sussex, and Union joined numerous counties in California and the Chicagoland space to make up greater than half of the 50 as of the tip of the second quarter of 2022.

Sharga reminds residents of the Backyard State that though it is famously “not New York, not Philadelphia,” New Jersey’s geographic ties to each locales typically seal its destiny.

“It is actually indeniable that as these cities go, so go the numbers for the state of New Jersey, and candidly, neither of these metropolitan areas has totally recovered from the COVID pandemic but,” he stated.

That being stated, Sharga added that a lot of the center of the state is not in the identical danger profile.

And whereas rates of interest will proceed to be raised, he stated it is seemingly house costs will lastly come down.

“We’re popping out of a interval of a number of years the place, yr over yr, house costs have been growing by 15% to twenty% throughout the nation. These days are over due to rising rates of interest,” Sharga stated. “One in every of (the Fed’s) initiatives, though it hasn’t actually been straight addressed, was to decelerate the fast development within the worth of housing.”

Rental costs ought to backtrack too, Sharga stated.

The warning right here, in keeping with Sharga, is that each time the Fed decides sufficient is sufficient with the speed hikes, historical past says a recession usually follows — eight out of the final 11 instances relationship again to the Nineteen Fifties, he stated.

However there’s hope that such a downturn can be short-lived, and never result in large unemployment.

“If we do begin to see unemployment numbers come up, that is more likely to result in extra mortgage delinquencies, which is able to result in extra foreclosures, which may have a particular affect on the housing market,” Sharga stated.

Patrick Lavery is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You possibly can attain him at [email protected]

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