A bidding war drove a modest Short Hills home $620,000 over asking price. But in this affluent enclave in Essex County, the real story isn’t the price, it’s the potential.
As reported in the New York Post, Saritte Harel of Keller Williams listed a 2,385-square-foot home in December that sold in less than a week for $1.72 million. Despite the seasonal slowdown in residential sales and amid a prolonged supply shortage in the region, the 1948 Cape Cod-style residence garnered significant interest from builders, flippers, and local buyers. In just six days, the property went under contract, adding to the handful of sales that take place in the last months of the year.
The team listed the property on Friday, but after 100 tours over the weekend and a flurry of buyers on Monday, it had already accepted an offer by Tuesday night.
Chrissy Schwartz, a salesperson who co-listed the property and a lifelong resident of Short Hills, told Jersey Digs that the buyer was attracted to the listing due to its location next to an arboretum and bird sanctuary, and the 1-acre lot the property sits on, which could serve as a blank canvas for a new residence.
“Inventory has been at historic lows for several years,” she said. “Given that we listed it right before Christmas, which is historically a really quiet time, I don’t think any of us anticipated we were going to get nearly the amount of traffic and offers we ended up getting.”
The confluence of limited supply, the overall residential sales trends in Short Hills and along the Route 24 Corridor, combined with the property’s location and size, means that the new owner has tapped into significant upside, Schwartz said.
A market report from Realtor.com found that the median listing price in Short Hills reached $3.5 million in December – rising 25.2% over December 2023. According to their data, homes in the area tend to stay on the market for about 90 days in December, reflecting the seasonal slowdown in sales due to winter.
Findings from Zillow are mostly in line with Realtor.com, but the firm found that average home values are floating around $2.1 million, rising 8.7% over the previous year. Home values in the area rose dramatically after September 2020, and only 17 homes are listed for sale as of January 31.
A report in PropertyClub listed Short Hills as the sixth wealthiest town in the U.S. and the second wealthiest town in the New York City metro after Scarsdale, N.Y., in 2024.
Schwartz added that although mortgage rates have kept some buyers and sellers out of the market, the limited supply of homes is expected to keep demand high for the foreseeable future. As buyers are forced to confront the shortage of homes available for sale, they are becoming more flexible and expanding their pool of towns and neighborhoods they want to target. This, in turn, should keep prices on an upward trajectory through 2025, she said.
