Westfield, NJ appraiser residential market analysis- 2025
As a resident of Westfield and appraiser for the past 23 years, Westfield has seen a lot of change. But one thing has remained constant, it is a residential market with high demand.
This is mainly due to the quiet neighborhoods, downtown area, commuting distance to NYC, and reputable school system. Although commuting distance is not the draw it once was due to Covid and the opportunity to work from home, many businesses have returned to full time in the office.
Over the past year we’ve seen a battle of low inventory and higher interest rates causing a major slowdown in the market. This has caused transactional volume to decrease significantly. A large part of that is homeowners do not want to leave the historically low interest rates that many currently have in place. Secondly is the trouble of finding another place to move with fewer options on the market.
Let’s dive into some numbers to see what going on. This data was captured on 4/08/2025.
Westfield, NJ in the past 12 months
Over the past 12 months in Westfield there have been 300 sales which is similar to the last few years but far from Covid years which was more than double.
Below is a graph showing statistics in the past year.
Homes are taking longer to sell in the winter but are back to a speedily 12 days on the market before going under contract.
Buyers are not paying over list price like they once were which was at 110-115%. The last line above represents the sale price to list price ratio so whether you are looking to buy or sell, homes have been closing predominantly at 4% above list price.
Lately we have been performing many appraisals for divorce purposes. Sometimes this process can take a while and the market shifts from the beginning. We can and have performed updated appraisals when the process takes longer than expected.
Mortgage Rates
I recently did a study of monthly payments with different mortgage rates. A few years ago mortgage interest rates were 3% and they peaked at 8% for a 30 year fixed, although they have come down to the low 6’s. Let's say you are looking at a home for $875,000 and you put down 20%. That is a loan amount of $700,000. The difference between 3% and 7% is $1,700 a month! That is a significant amount of additional money per month for the same home from one year to the next.
Double Yellow lines
The double yellow lines painted along Prospect St were removed. As a Westfield appraiser, I look to see if there are double yellow lines on the road and it does negatively impact property values. The amount depends on how busy the road is and the market.
Westfield, NJ located in Union County covers an area of 6.75 square miles with an estimated population of about 31,000 residents and approximately 11,000 households.
Keeping an eye on the market is a critical part of my analysis. Also, being familiar with the different neighborhoods within Westfield helps to make accurate comparisons when determining fair market value. If you need the fair market value of a home for a pre-listing decision, estate planning, divorce, date of death valuation, PMI removal or another reason – please give American Realty Appraisals a call at 908-233-1337.