{"id":187558,"date":"2026-04-17T11:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=187558"},"modified":"2026-04-17T11:04:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:04:46","slug":"why-investors-are-moving-to-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/why-investors-are-moving-to-new-jersey","title":{"rendered":"Investors Are Rushing to New Jersey Despite High Taxes and Cost of Living\u2014What’s Going On?"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a time when property values are faltering around the country, New Jersey is experiencing something unique for a cold, high-tax state: soaring house prices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Garden State saw 6% price growth in February compared to the same month in the previous year, far outstripping the national average of around 0.5%, according to real estate data and analytics company Cotality\u2019s <\/span>house price index<\/span><\/a>. In gritty Newark in Essex County, the price growth was even more pronounced, at <\/span>6.7%<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what gives?<\/span><\/p>\n

Supply and Demand + Proximity to Manhattan<\/span><\/h2>\n

New Jersey stands out for several reasons. There hasn’t been the rampant development seen in the Sunbelt states, which has heightened demand, and in Newark, its <\/span>close<\/span> proximity to Manhattan ($3 for a one-way trip on the PATH train) and heavy investor buying have caused a rapid increase in house prices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we kept bumping up against is what you see in the news and experts focusing on the supply side,” Katharine Nelson, associate director of Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality, and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), said regarding a<\/span> recent report<\/span><\/a> exploring the 30% increase in housing costs between 2021 and 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson added:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it\u2019s a problem. But there is no single individual solution to the rental affordability crisis. We need to attack this on many fronts at once. <\/span>That means building more homes<\/span>, certainly<\/span>.<\/span> But the homes we are producing must be homes we need\u2014very low-rent units and starter homes. At the same time, we need to address the consolidation of landlords and homebuilders, which are driving up prices, and find creative ways to assist very low-income households as federal subsidies disappear.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The New Jersey suburbs, particularly in North Jersey, around New York, have seen a rampant appreciation in house prices. According to the New York-centric data and analytics company<\/span> Property Shark<\/span><\/a>, which analyzed 387 suburban markets around New York City, the median home sale price in NYC suburbs has increased 86% between 2016 and 2025, double the 43% increase in New York City.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rampant Appreciation in the Poorest Areas<\/span><\/h2>\n

New Jersey accounted for 74% of the 100 markets <\/span>in which<\/span> median <\/span>sales<\/span> prices at least doubled over the last decade.<\/span> According to the report, 43% of these suburban markets have prices between $500,000 and $750,000, while only 8% are below $500,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Consequently, what was once a suburban ecosystem with a wide range of price points in which NYC buyers could still find relatively affordable communities has since consolidated into a far more expensive market, dominated by mid- and high-priced suburban communities,” the report said. It shows that New Jersey\u2019s once-affordable, largely rental communities in Newark, East Orange, Orange, and Irvington saw astronomical increases in median sales prices over the last decade:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n