Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®, made the prediction last September after seeing the latest Labor Department report, which showed a slowing job market. According to Yun, the soft job gains in August assures that the Federal Reserve will be cutting interest rates. (http://bit.ly/2QAkaCp)

Mortgage rates have remained steady in the month of November and are still down more than 1 percent from last year at this time. Residential new construction activity continues to rise on a national level. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that new housing permits rose 5% in October to a new 12-year high of 1.46 million units.

Reports indicate that during the month on November, Single Family Closed Sales increased 4.9 percent to 495, Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales increased 2.2 percent to 190. The Single-Family Median Sales Price was down 2.1 percent to $470,000; Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price was up 2.5 percent to $343,500., and Adult Communities Median Sales Price was down 47.4 percent to $310,000.

While many economic signs are quite strong, total household debt has been rising for twenty-one consecutive quarters and is now $1.3 trillion higher than the previous peak of $12.68 trillion in 2008. While delinquency rates remain low across most debt types (including mortgages), higher consumer debt loads can limit future household spending capability and increase risk if the economy slows down.

Data as of December 20, 2019. All data from New Jersey MLS and Hudson County MLS. Margin of error for reported statewide numbers is +/- 4% at a 95% confidence level. Provided by New Jersey REALTORS®. Report © 2019 ShowingTime.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of NAR data report from Magazine.Realtor