July 2023 was a pretty extraordinary month for Princeton residential real estate. Last month, there was an incredible +15% increase in Units Pended with -28% fewer Units Listed than in July 2022. Given the lower inventory in July 2023, it’s no surprise that both Units Sold (-10%) and Days on Market (-15%) decreased compared to July 2022. Despite fewer listings in July 2023, more properties sold faster than in July 2022 because of the continued demand.
The July 2023 Average Sale Price (-4%) and the Median Sale Price (-14%) were lower than in July 2022. There could be two reasons for the difference. First, last month there was a higher percentage of closings under $1M compared to July 2022. Second, the highest July 2023 sale ($2,702,800) was significantly lower than the highest July 2022 sale ($3,950,000). The shift to a higher percentage of sales in the under $1M price range, coupled with a remarkable difference in the highest sale price, caused a decrease in the July 2023 Average Sale Price and Median Sale Price compared to July 2022.
How is Princeton performing year-to-date (YTD)? Units Sold (-28%) and Units Listed (-23%) both decreased while Days On Market (+12%) increased compared to January-July 2022. As for January-July 2023 versus January-July 2019 (pre-pandemic), Units Sold (-19%), Units Listed (-13%), and Days On Market (-51%) all decreased. Year-to-date fewer Units Sold compared to last year because of the low inventory levels.
The January-July 2023 ASP (+17%) and MSP (+27%) increased versus January-July 2022. Compared to January-July 2019, the January-July 2023 ASP and MSP increased +40% and +43%, respectively. Please note that the data I share includes properties sold via BrightMLS. Every year some sales occur outside BrightMLS. For both consistency and to present timely information, I exclude the information associated with these off-market sales in my analysis. The competition for available inventory has most likely caused the consistent Average Sale Price and Median Sale Price increases.
So what is happening now? There are currently 54 Active Units between $525,000 and $8,500,000, 16 Active Under Contract Units between $715,000 and $12,000,000, and 20 Pending Units between $715,000 and $5,500,000 in Princeton. Lastly, 13 properties were introduced thus far in August.
We are looking forward to seeing what the next months will bring and as always, if you are thinking about buying, selling, or want to learn more about the Princeton area real estate market, please don’t hesitate to email us! Sig & Syl
Sylmarie Trowbridge 