U.S. Home Prices Fell for the First Time in 3 Years. Our Metro's 8.4% Rise Was Second-Biggest of the 50 Most Populous U.S. Metros.

The posts going around are real: the national median home-sale price fell 0.1% from a year earlier to $389,601 for the four weeks ending October 25 (Redfin) - the second straight week of year-over-year declines, following a 0.2% dip the week before, and the first annual declines in more than three years. About 4 in 10 active listings nationwide are priced below their original ask (Parcl Labs, 41.7% as of November 1). And sellers outnumber buyers by an estimated 62.6%, the widest gap in Redfin's records, which date to 2013.

Our area tells a different story. The Lakewood-New Brunswick metro division (Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex and Somerset) posted an 8.4% year-over-year price increase for the same four weeks - the second-biggest increase among the 50 most populous U.S. metros. And while sellers outnumber buyers nationally, our division was essentially balanced in September, with 0.6% fewer sellers than buyers (Redfin).

• Ocean County (Redfin, three months ending September): homes sold at an average 99.1% of asking, with a median 32 days on the market; a third sold above asking. Median sale price $488,906, roughly flat versus a year ago.
• Monmouth County (Redfin, three months ending September): 45.2% of homes sold above asking - nearly double the national share - at an average 100.7% of list price, with a median 25 days on the market. Median sale price $733,858, up 1.2% from a year ago.
• Toms River: median sale price up 5.1% from a year earlier to $524,750 (Redfin, three months ending September); September sales of 354 homes beat last September's 330 (Redfin monthly count), at about 1% below asking on average.
• Lakewood (Redfin, three months ending September): a median 48 days on the market, with only about 34 homes sold in September - too few for its monthly median price to show a reliable trend. The county numbers above are the reliable read.

Why the difference? Redfin points to supply: seller's markets are concentrated where limited homebuilding has kept inventory tight, and it names the greater New York City area - which includes our counties. The Sun Belt, where builders kept adding homes, is where the biggest buyer's markets formed.

Full breakdown with every source: https://springhome.co/blog/housing-market-headlines-vs-ocean-monmouth-county

By Sam Alpert, Spring Home, Toms River.