New Jersey’s rural homeowners victims of market

A division in the fortunes of homeowners living in rural and non-rural areas became more apparent during the recession, the New York Times reported, and remains despite a slight uptick in the housing market. In New Jersey especially, there is a large division in market fortunes, with rural homes lagging on the market.

“The only people I’ve seen selling their houses recently are those who absolutely had to — because they were in financial disarray, a job change, divorce or death,” said Dawn Rapa, a Coldwell Banker Elite agent working in rural Salem County.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Salem County has the most extensive housing inventory of all 21 counties surveyed in the state, the Times said: 44.5 months’ worth of houses, largely priced under $400,000. Other counties have inventories around twice the state average — 29 months’ worth in Cumberland County, 26 in Cape May County, and 24 in Atlantic County.

For homes priced between $1 million to $2.5 million, it could take more than four years to sell the inventory in Atlantic County and close to seven years in Ocean County, according to data cited by the Times. [NYT]