Market Watch – August 2023

August, 2023

2023 Bridgewater Review – First Six Months

There were 184 homes sold in Bridgewater during the first half of 2023, down 23 percent from the first half of
2022. The large majority, 129 or 70.1 percent were single family units. The remaining 55, or 29.9 percent were condos or town homes.
For the first half year 2023, the average selling price for a home (condo, town home, single family) was
$603,341. That is an increase of approximately 2.5 percent from the first half 2022 figure of $588,588. Similarly, the
median selling price for 2023 jumped 4.6 percent, going from $550,000 in 2022 to $575,312 the past six months.
During just June 2023, the average selling price for a home was $630,512 and the median price was $617,500. The
average price was a 2.6 percent decrease from the 2022 June price of $646,782 while the median price rose 1.2
percent over the prior June median price of $610,000.
One of the biggest surprises came in the larger room sized homes. For homes with five plus bedrooms, the average price for the year decreased1.9 percent, going from $952,930 in 2022 to $935,176 for 2023. The median price
showed a more significant decrease, dropping 10.7 percent from $885,000 in 2022 to $790,000 in 2023. During
June 2023, the average and median price for a five plus bedroom home was $836,500 and $695,500. That is a
significant decrease from the June 2022 average and median price of $983,156 (14.9 percent) and $880,000 (20.9
percent, yep, both correct).
Homes with four bedrooms did show yearly gains. The average selling price for a four bedroom home during the
first half of 2023 was $745,153, an increase of 4.8 percent from the average 2022 price of $711,104. The median
price rose 3.6 percent, going from $717,800 during the first half of 2022 to $743,500 during 2023. During June
2023, a four bedroom home had an average selling price of $768,431 and a mean selling price of $785,500. That is
a 5.6 percent decrease from the June 2022 average selling price of $813,994 and a 1.8 percent decrease in the
median selling price of $800,000.
Three bedroom homes increased with an average selling price of $540,871 during the first half of 2023, a 10.4
percent increase from the 2022 average selling price of $489,600, while the median price increased 8.0 percent,
going from $500,000 during 2022 to $540,000 this past half year. In the month of June 2023, the average selling
price was $551,056 compared to $529,020 the year prior, a 4.2 percent increase. The median price in June increased a modest 1.0 percent, from $550,000 in 2022 to $555,000 in 2023.

For two bedroom homes (mostly condos and town homes) the average selling price for the first six months of
2023 was $371,526, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 2022 figure of $326,567. The median selling price
showed a 13.4 percent rise, going from $325,000 during 2022 to $368,500 during 2023. During June 2022, the average price for a two bedroom home in Bridgewater was $401,966 increasing a dramatic 26.0 percent from
$318,917 in June 2022. Similarly, the median price jumped 24.7 percent. The June 2023 median price was
$418,000 while the 2022 price was $335,000.
The time homes stayed on market, or days on market (DOM), stayed the same during the first six months of
2022 and 2023. DOM refers to the time a home is first listed till it finishes the attorney review period. It does not
mean till the closing date. During the two time periods, the average days on market was 29. This compares to 2021
when DOM was 35 days. Days on market for five plus bedroom homes dropped from 46 the first half of 2022 to 39
in 2023. Four bedroom homes saw an increase going from 29 to 32 days. Days on market for three bedroom
homes decreased from 28 in 2022 to 23, while two bedroom homes saw its time on market go from 41 days down
to 29 days. During June of 2023, DOM for all homes stood at 26, a decrease from the 2022 DOM of 30.
Sale price to list price (SP/LP) and sale price to original list price (SP/OLP) showed a slight decrease between
the first six months 2022 and 2023. Homes sold at 103 percent of final list price (SP/LP) during the first half 2023,
compared to 104 percent during 2022. This compares to 101 percent during the first six months 2021. Similarly,
homes sold at 103 percent of SP/OLP in 2023, down from 104 percent during the half year prior. Three bedroom
homes sold at the highest, SP/LP at 106 percent during the first half 2023 versus104 percent in 2022. Two bedroom homes sold at 103 percent in 2023 versus 104 percent the first six months prior. Four bedroom homes followed going from 104 percent in 2022 to103 percent in 2023. Five plus bedroom homes decreased from 103 percent during the half year 2022 to 100 percent to 2023. SP/OLP in each bedroom group showed similar movements.
During the month of June for 2023 SP/LP and SP/OLP for all homes sold were both 105 percent. This compares
to 104 percent and 103 percent for the month in 2022. Three and four bedroom homes sold at the highest SP/LP
ratio at 109 percent and 105 percent. Two bedroom homes sold at 103 percent for SP/LP while five bedroom
homes sold at 101 percent. For SP/OLP, two bedroom homes sold at 102 percent, three bedrooms at 109 percent,
four bedrooms at 104 percent and five bedrooms at 100 percent.
At the end of June 2023, the supply of available homes was still below one month’s supply. There was only a .98
month’s supply. This compares to 1.62 month’s supply at the end of June, 2022, 1.53 month’s supply at the end of
June, 2021 and 3.94 month’s supply at the end of June, 2019. The importance of month’s supply of available
homes has been discussed at length in Market Watch. Month’s supply is a key contributor to the seller’s market that
has characterized the Bridgewater housing market for the past 40 or so months. And it will continue to overshadow
the market unless a significant amount of homes are made available for resale or built. Remember, a balanced
market where supply matches demand has a six to seven month’s worth of available homes. Right now we are far
from balancing that equation.