As we move into week two of the new year it is good to see that all 8 Northern New Jersey towns we follow all had more than one home under contract this time. Last year West Orange and Montclair battled it out a lot as to which town would have the most homes go under contract in any given week. Last week, West Orange had the most; this week it's Montclair with West Orange following a distant fourth or fifth place tie, depending on how you decide to read it.

Here's the breakdown of how many residential homes went under contract per town:
Livingston = 3
Maplewood = 3
Millburn/Short Hills = 5
Montclair = 6
Nutley = 4
South Orange = 4
Verona = 2
West Orange = 3

As you know we're starting something new this year to enhance what we deliver to you. We go over a lot of information face-to-face and wanted to share more of that online.

If you've followed our weekly under contract reports at all, you've seen West Orange come out on top of the list many times as the town with the most homes under contract. What you don't see that we digest is what that really means for the town. When you look at the number of homes that West Orange has on the market overall, compared to the other towns, you begin to see why it wins most weeks. But does it really win? Because West Orange is a large town and has more residential homes on the market than the other towns, it has to post big under contract numbers week-to-week to make a decent dent in it's inventory. This is what we will be unveiling to you more and more.

How many single-family homes does each town have for sale as of January 16?:
Livingston = 91
Maplewood = 85
Millburn/Short Hills = 69
Montclair = 109
Nutley = 133
South Orange = 81
Verona = 61
West Orange = 281

Always turn to us for all your real estate answers. We know the market.

Why would you team with anyone else?

Information brought to you by Bev and Bob Meaux, your source for everything real estate in Maplewood, West Orange and South Orange, New Jersey and your short sales resource. All numbers are sourced from the Garden State Multiple Listing Service (GSMLS).