Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
New Jersey's real estate market has been fairly fractured since the Great Recession ended in 2009. A slow recovery has meant many are still waiting for their property values to recover, but that's certainly not true across the board.
A handful of towns are seeing incredible demand and, combined with low inventories, prices have been skyrocketing in recent months.
The 19 towns below all, according to real estate tracking giant Zillow, have seen their median home values peak at the start of 2017. We used Zillow's own Home Value Index for our analysis (methodology here) and excluded shore communities where there is a strong secondary home market.
Each of these towns stand a head and shoulders above New Jersey's statewide price growth during the last year and some have seen home values soar to remarkable heights.
A slow statewide recovery
To underscore what outliers our top 19 are, take a look at the state's overall median value growth in the last few decades. Most of New Jersey took a tremendous hit during the recession, and didn't start recovering in earnest until several years after it officially ended.
These towns are not only bucking the overall trend, but many have blown past the value they had prior to the recession.
A longtime favorite stays popular
Chatham Township is first on our list. While it's gained the least amount of value by percentage of the towns on this list, it also has the highest overall median value. Chatham has long been a desired destination for families, and that only continues today.
A revival in Bergen County
After seeing its growth stagnate in the 1980s and 1990s, Glen Rock has been steadily gaining population in the 21st century. In a few years, it could near its peak population of 13,000, set in 1970.
The next big thing?
Carlstadt is one of a handful of towns surrounding Jersey City and Hoboken that has seen marked gains in valuation during the past year. Experts say these towns are becoming popular as prices for property in those cities become out of reach for most.
Siblings act alike
Like it's similarly named neighbor, Chatham Borough also remains popular for families seeking homes. It's median Zillow value is more than twice that of the state's.
A Monmouth County gem
Overall, Monmouth County has struggled to retain population and attract buyers since the recession. But towns like Fair Haven, located along the North Jersey Coast Line of NJ Transit, buck that trend. Fair Haven not only has easy access to transit, but is a stone's throw from the Jersey Shore.
Gold Coast stays gold
Towns along the Hudson River, known as the state's "Gold Coast," have been reaping the rewards of New York City's revival over the last two decades. Good schools and a quick commute to the city make Tenafly an attractive, and expensive, location for home buyers.
Good schools always drive interest
Woodcliff Lake has some of the best schools in the state, which makes it instantly attractive to many homebuyers seeking property near New York City.
Walkable downtown, check. Transit access, check.
Glen Ridge is the first of a handful of Essex County towns on this list. It has a quaint, walkable downtown and easy access to public transit, two things at the top of many buyers priority lists.
From Korea, with love
Palisades Park has been a major draw for the Korean immigrants for years. More than 50 percent of its residents claim Korean ancestry, the highest percentage of any municipality in the United States. Prices remain more affordable than some of the surrounding towns, as well.
A New Jersey real estate darling
Montclair is often one of the first towns referenced by real estate agents when asked what people are looking for. Its bustling downtown and direct train access to New York City have made it one of the hottest markets of the last decade in the Garden State.
South Jersey's new boomtown?
While neighbors like Collingswood are often discussed as South Jersey's version of Montclair, Haddonfield has become a big draw in recent months. It also sports a walkable downtown, a PATCO station with direct access to Philadelphia and a well-respected school system. It remains far more affordable than similar towns up north.
Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Old Faithful
Princeton's leafy streets, quaint downtown and proximity to a certain highly thought of university have made it an annual draw for home buyers in New Jersey for ages. If you want to move year, though, you'll pay a pretty penny. Nearly 7 percent growth in the last year and low inventory has sent many of the homes here into $1 million territory.
Sandy rebound
Moonachie was one of the most unanticipated casualties of Hurricane Sandy. A levy broke along the Hackensack River as storm surge backed the waterway up, sending flood waters streaming into the Bergen County community.
Things are turning around fast here, though. It remains one of the more affordable Bergen County towns, but perhaps not for long.
N.J.'s most sought after schools?
You might think that an average property tax bill north of $20,000 would scare most off, but not here. Millburn is frequently in the argument for best school district in the state, which keeps prices ballooning in this Essex County town.
Cramming them in
Hoboken is likely the smallest town, by area, on this list, but it has been packing residents in. The city sports one of the shortest commutes to Manhattan in the state and a bustling downtown. The median value might look comparable to others on this list, until you think about what you're getting.
It's difficult to find anything more than a 1-bedroom apartment here for less than $1 million.
King of the Oranges
South Orange has been a hugely popular real estate market in the last decade. Extremely low inventory has driven home prices up markedly here, with the median value gaining nearly $100,000 in just one year.
Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Renaissance at the Shore
It wasn't that long ago that Asbury Park had completely lost its luster. Abandoned homes, syringes on the beaches and a ghostly main street had tarnished the Jersey Shore icon of the 1960s and 1970s.
But Asbury Park has made a complete 180-degree turn in the last decade and is now one of the hottest, and most affordable, markets in the state.
Millburn east
As home prices became out of reach for many in neighboring Millburn, Maplewood's leafy streets exploded with would-be home buyers seeking a suburban life near the city. It remains more affordable than most towns nearby, but likely not for long. Lately, homes here have frequently are sold for tens of thousands of dollars above asking price.
The undisputed king
As Hoboken became more and more cramped and expensive in recent years, Weehawken has suddenly seen explosive growth. The hilly riverside community offers spectacular views of New York City with more space than neighboring Hoboken. The city commute isn't bad either, if you're driving either — the Lincoln Tunnel approach cuts right through the center of town.
A common thread? Trains
The most easily identifiable trend among NJ's hottest towns is clear — access to transit. Each of the towns are within minutes of an NJ Transit station, which despite the transit service's recent woes, remains a tremendous draw for prospective home buyers.
(Trulia)
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