STONE HARBOR – Giving her monthly report to Stone Harbor Council April 4, tax assessor Margaret Slavin said the borough was experiencing a “big decrease” in home sales.
Slavin said in March 2022, there had been 25 usable sales compared to nine this year. Inventory of available homes for sale is also picking up, with 28 active listings, she added.
Slavin’s comments are in line with national statistics from the Federal Reserve, noting that short-term home price expectations dropped sharply in the 2023 survey of consumer expectations.
The Fed mapping of home price changes year over year for January also showed Cape May County no longer leading all state counties in home-price growth.
No one is predicting significant harm to the real estate market in the county, but the frenzied market that drove prices during and immediately following the pandemic may be returning to a pre-pandemic pace.
At least that was the word from Stone Harbor’s construction official, Ray Poudrier, who also spoke at the meeting. He said that construction activity in the office was “consistent with pre-Covid levels.”
