Real Estate: New Listings in May Down from 2008

There's been a significant drop-off in homes listed for sale in South Orange and Maplewood in the first half of May from last year, according to data pulled from the MLS by a local realtor.

According to Burgdorff's Sarah Macyshyn, 20 new listings came on the market from May 1-14 of this year, compared to 31 last year. In Maplewood, the numbers are 23 in 2009 compared to 36 in 2008.

Macyshyn said she was inspired to look up the numbers when she realized she was less busy this year taking buyers to open houses on Tuesdays and Thursdays. May tends to be an extremely busy time of year -- in part because of the inclination sellers have to show off their homes at the height of spring.

She cites fewer corporate transfers and sellers waiting on the market to improve as possible reasons for the drop-off.

"There are always people selling their houses because they want to buy bigger houses, and maybe some of those people are holding off," said Macyshyn, a South Orange resident.

She also noted that real estate in South Orange is moving more slowly than in Maplewood and thinks it's p0ssibly attributable to overall higher prices. The average home in South Orange is priced higher than in Maplewood, due to the expensive homes in the Montrose neighborhood and Newstead.