New Jersey

The reasons why N.J. home sales plummeted 22% last year

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2024

The reasons why N.J. home sales plummeted 22% last year

Low inventory and the highest interest rates in two decades caused home sales to decline 22% in New Jersey in 2023, according to data from New Jersey Realtors.

That follows a 20% decline in home sales in 2022, according to data from the Otteau Group.

Closed sales for all market segments totaled 84,305 in New Jersey in 2023, a 22% percent decline from 2022.

The townhouse and condo market segment saw the biggest decline in closed sales, dropping 24% in 2023 compared with 2022. The 19,175 closed sales in 2023 represented a 6,063 decline from 25,238 in closed sales in 2022, according to New Jersey Realtors.

There were 23.2% fewer single family home closed sales in 2023, and the market of housing for people 55 and older had 6.2% fewer closed sales.

“It has nothing to do with people not buying,” said Gloria Monks, president of New Jersey Realtors and a broker associate with Compass in Princeton. “There’s no inventory. When we get good inventory, it does sell.”

New listings in New Jersey were down 20% in 2023 compared to 2022. There were 107,517 new listings in 2023, down from 134,643 in 2022. Of those new listings, the majority, 71,701, were single family homes, according to New Jersey Realtors’ data.

Unsold inventory in New Jersey fell to 10,500 homes on the market as of January, compared to 12,900 a year ago, according to data from the Otteau Group.

Homeowners don’t want to sell existing property they may have a mortgage on when rates for a new 30-year mortgages are now more than 7%, as many who purchased a property before mortgage rates increased have a note with an interest rate below 4%.

“After rates start to move closer to 5.5%, or get below 5.5%, we’re going to see existing homeowners more willing to put their houses up for sale,” said Jeffrey Otteau, a real estate economist who heads the Otteau Group.

New Jersey should see an increase in the number of houses on the market by Memorial Day or the second quarter of 2024, he said, if interest rates fall, as expected.

But the 2024 market is off to a slow start. In Randolph, in Morris County, prior to 2020, inventory was about 130 homes for sale at this time of year. In the spring market, inventory would rise to about 160, according to Missy Iemmello, a broker sales associate and Weichert Realtors’ branch vice president, whose agents work in Morris, Sussex, Warren, Bergen and Essex counties.

There are currently 13 active listings in Randolph.

“This is the lowest I have seen in my career, since 2006,” Iemmello said. “I believe we are at the bottom and will start growing inventory, but I think it will be a slow uphill climb.”

The decline in sales is having an impact on the real estate profession.

“There are a lot of agents making decisions about whether to keep their license active or go into a referral service,” said Beth Kimmick of ERA Central Realty in Cream Ridge. With a referral service, they can’t actively sell but they can refer clients to other agents who will then pay them a small commission.

“It’s expensive to have a license and if you’re not doing business, it can be the world’s most expensive hobby,” she said.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.

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New Jersey

Newark-bound United flight returns to LA airport for evacuation after reported fire

Published

31 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Newark-bound United flight returns to LA airport for evacuation after reported fire

NEWARK, New Jersey — A United Airlines flight headed to Newark, New Jersey returned to the Los Angeles airport Monday about 40 minutes after taking off for an emergency evacuation after a reported fire, authorities said.

All flights at the LAX International Airport were ordered to remain on the ground for about half an hour during the flight’s return and evacuation, according to advisories from the Federal Aviation Administration. No injuries were reported.

The flight, which was en route to Newark Liberty International Airport returned to LAX to address an issue with one of the engines, the airline said in a statement. There was no mention of a fire, but the LA Fire Department said it responded and there was a fire that was contained as of an hour after the plane’s landing.

The flight took off at 10:43 a.m., began to turn around at about 11 a.m. and landed again at 11:19 a.m., according to flight tracker FlightAware.

The LA Fire Department said they assisted with the evacuation of more than 250 passengers and crew. Passengers exited the plane on the taxiway using slides and stairs and were taken to the terminal, the airline said.

The airplane was a Boeing 787-9, a variant of the popular line of 787 Dreamliner long-haul aircraft.

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New Jersey

Division 3 NCAA Tournament: Three NJ basketball teams make the bracket

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Division 3 NCAA Tournament: Three NJ basketball teams make the bracket

Manasquan HS grad Matthew Solomon has special motivation in leading red-hot TCNJ. Montclair State, Stevens also repping the Garden State.

It was the kind of sequence that embodies everything we love about sports – and especially college basketball.

With 10 seconds left in the Saturday’s New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament final, TCNJ guard David Alexandre drove the lane, got cut off, spun around a whipped a pass into the paint as he fell backward. There to receive it was forward Matthew Solomon, a Manasquan High School grad, who finished his hard cut with a dunk that gave the Lions a two-point lead at Montclair State.

Then, on the other end, Montclair State star Jacob Morales had a long look at a game-winner with two seconds left – but Solomon closed out and blocked the shot as time expired.

Both teams are headed to the Division III NCAA Tournament, which unveiled its bracket today (so is a third New Jersey representative, Stevens Institute of Technology). It was an incredible moment on its face, so exhilarating that former Villanova coach and two-time March Madness champion Jay Wright spotlighted it on social media.

“That’s surreal,” Solomon said. “I grew up watching Nova, so to see that was really cool. He was giving Division 3 basketball some love, which is deserved.”

One of the best-kept secrets in college sports is just how high-quality D-3 hoops is, and Jersey has long been a hotbed, regularly sending squads to the Final Four. On the men’s side the Garden State’s last national champion was Rowan in 1996. That could change in the coming weeks.

But along with quality hoops, Division 3 ball features amazing stories, and the story behind Solomon’s heroics is even more incredible than jaw-dropping end to Saturday’s classic.

On his left wrist, the 6-foot-7 senior out of Spring Lake Heights wore protective tape over a wristband that read, “Paterno Strong” in honor of his cousin Billy Paterno, who died in 2024 at age 3 of leukemia. His parents, Point Pleasant residents Danielle and William, were at the NJAC title game.

“They’re an amazing family,” Solomon said. “The stuff they went through showed me what real strength looks like. Me facing adversity on the basketball court, when I look over and see them and look down on my wrist and see the Paterno Strong wristband, after what they did, I can keep playing for 40 minutes of basketball.”

Solomon finished the epic final with 22 points and 17 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting, but he was quick to credit Saddle River Day grad Alexandre (24 points, 4 assists) and ace point guard and Don Bosco Prep grad Nick Koch (14 points) for their contributions.

For some context on the achievement: Montclair State was 24-0 and ranked No. 1 in all of Division 3 when TCNJ beat the Red Hawks twice in three-game span.

“Jersey basketball, you know how it is – the best in the country,” Solomon said. “We got a taste of playing the top team in the country and that definitely prepared us for what’s next, and hopefully we prepared them, so we can both show the whole country what New Jersey basketball is about.”

There’s one more powerful aspect to Solomon’s story. His father Larry Solomon died of Covid in February 2021, and a month later his brother Andrew Solomon hit the game-winning shot with one second left in the Shore Conference A final, capping a perfect season for Manasquan High. Andrew went on to serve as a manager with Monmouth’s basketball program.

“People are trying to compare my shot to his, but Andrew’s got me topped by a million,” Matthew said.

But between his father and his cousin Billy, “I’ve got people watching me from above,” Matthew said. “All the things I do are for them.”

Keep that in mind as TCNJ (21-6 overall, 14-4 NJAC) opens the Division 3 bracket against Johns Hopkins (20-7) Friday Randolph-Macon in Ashland Virginia. The winner will face either host Randolph-Macon (25-3) or North Carolina Wesleyan (21-6) Saturday at the same site.

“We know we can run with the best of them,” Solomon said. “We’re not pleased with just being here now. Maybe the past two years, just making it was enough. This year that’s not enough. We’ve got a special group.”

In a new wrinkle this year, the D-3 quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place in Indianapolis, sharing a stage with the Division I Final Four. It’s a fitting reward.

“Playing Division 3 basketball has changed my life,” Solomon said. “You’ve really got to love the game, but I’ve built relationships with teammates, coaches and alumni – connections that I’m going to have the rest of my life. If I were to go back to high school, I would make the same exact decision a thousand times out of a thousand.”

Montclair State (25-1, overall, 17-1 NJAC)

The Red Hawks reached No. 1 in the nation after reeling off 24 straight wins to open the campaign. They average 92.1 points per game shooting a whopping 40.4 percent from 3-point range and hitting 13.1 triples per game.

They will play host to Maine-Farmington (22-5) on Friday, and if they win will host the winner of Bates (18-8) vs. Yeshiva (20-8) in the second round on Saturday.

Leading the way is senior forward Jacob Morales, a Montvale native, Pascack Hills High School grad and former Rutgers walk-on. The NJAC Player of the Year averages 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard and Trenton native Kabrien Goss (14.7 ppg), freshman guard and Morris Catholic grad Cristian Nicholson (11.4 ppg) and sophomore forward and Lenape High School grad Myles Primas (9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are key contributors.

Under head coach Justin Potts, the Red Hawks reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and also made the field in 2022-23.

Stevens (18-9 overall, 10-4 MAC Freedom)

The Ducks are four-time MAAC Freedom champions under head coach Bobby Hurley, who won his 300^th game at the program’s helm in February.

They will visit Christopher Newport (21-5) in Newport News, Va., on Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s second round at the same site against either Mount Union (23-3) or Washington and Jefferson (22-6).

Junior guard Tommy Scholl, the MAC Freedom MVP, averages 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior forward Harmehar Chhabra, a South Brunswick High School grad, averages 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists and recorded a triple-double (12 points, 11 boards, 11 assists) against Lebanon Valley last month.

Junior guard Kyle Maddison (14.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.0 apg) and senior guard Matt Leming out of Haddonfield (9.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) add to an offense that shoots 47 percent from the field.

This is the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, all under Hurley. The Ducks reached the second round in 2022.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

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New Jersey

Blizzard causes heavy damage to New Jersey animal refuge

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Blizzard causes heavy damage to New Jersey animal refuge

A New Jersey animal shelter is asking for the public’s help after last month’s blizzard did heavy damage to its property in Ocean County.

On social media, Popcorn Park Animal Refuge posted a video and described the fury of the storm. saying that the blizzard “caused unexpected damage… impacting habitats, fencing, structures, and critical infrastructure.”

The nonprofit animal haven says its team “worked tirelessly to keep every animal safe during the storm,” however, “the aftermath has left us facing urgent repairs and significant financial strain.”

Photo: Popcorn Park Animal Refuge

The refuge says this winter has been “especially challenging.” It says “repeated severe weather has forced extended closures to the public, further limiting vital support and creating an added burden during an already difficult recovery period,” adding “we need our community now more than ever.”

Popcorn Park was established in 1977, according to its website. It’s part of the Associated Humane Societies — which bills itself as New Jersey’s largest animal welfare organization. Popcorn Park describes itself as “a sanctuary for abandoned, injured, ill, exploited, abused, or elderly farm animals, birds, and wildlife (domestic and exotic).”

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