New Jersey Returns To The Train Line Towns

For much of the 1980's though about 2005 people in New Jersey and moving to New Jersey had a preference to moving to the outstate suburbs.  This meant cheaper housing, lower taxes, nicer newer houses, and in many cases living almost a rural lifestyle highly dependent on cars and road systems which were designed in the 1960's and 1970's for a 4th as many people as live in many of these areas today.

For the past few years we have been seeing the opposite happen.  Home buyers are showing a strong preference for train line towns.  Preferring to go to towns like Madison NJ, Chatham NJ, Summit NJ, Maplewood NJ, & South Orange NJ and staying away from towns like East Hanover, West Orange, ... because of the lack of good train service into New York City and Hoboken, Newark, & Jersey City.

This means that we have home buyers willing to pay as much as a 15% premium for similar homes in Madison & Chatham over homes in surrounding towns which do not have train lines.  The trend has become so strong that in 2007, a year where the news media, and people like Jim Cramer of CNBC & resident of Summit NJ were screaming at people not to buy a home, that Madison NJ, Chatham NJ & Summit NJ all were able to see more homes sell and for a small increase in prices.  Keep in mind that during 2007 the state as a whole had a price decline of something like 12%.  Also keep in mind Jim Cramer's record of being right or wrong.

This all means that if you are thinking of buying a home here in New Jersey, you have to strongly consider what the train service is, and you have to understand that home prices are slowly going up in many of these train line towns.

To read the home sales reports I have down for many of these towns visit the Midtown Direct Home Report.

James Boyer REALTOR, Specializes in the Midtown Direct Real Estate markets.  If you are thinking of buying a home in such train line towns Summit NJ, Madison NJ ... I am your area expert.  Chatham NJ REALTOR James Boyer 973-647-0253

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