NYC suburbs see higher home prices

Job growth, rising confidence, low mortgage rates and buyers’ urgency are all pushing up home prices in the suburbs of New York City, particularly in Southwest Connecticut and Northern New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Across the board, it is on fire,” New Jersey appraiser Jeffrey Otteau told the Journal. “Buyers today once again feel a sense of urgency. Buyers are now convinced that waiting they will pay more.”

Median prices increased 3.8 percent year-over-year in Fairfield County, Conn. Meanwhile in Northern New Jersey, home prices gained 3 percent in both the first and second quarters of this year compared to the same periods last year. This comes after prices fell 27 percent in New Jersey between 2007 and 2012.

The Westchester market posted a 1 percent gain in median home prices in the first quarter this year compared to the same period in 2012. However, pending sales contracts in the county are up 22.5 percent year-over-year and there is now less inventory, Chris Meyers, a managing principal at local brokerage Houlihan Lawrence, told the Journal.

Meanwhile, Long Island’s home prices have lagged behind these other three markets, primarily due to the amount of foreclosures in the area, according to the Journal. Still, there’s a reported decrease in inventory, as well as a 12.2 percent rise in signed contracts so far this year compared to the same period last year. [WSJ] —Zachary Kussin