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While are you correct deals can be had, if one has patience and is willing to look at an older house/fixer upper, I would not say that the number of affordable houses in the top Bergen towns is "more than ever". Data shows SR is very close to hitting it's pre real estate bubble peak (within 10%), Englewood Cliffs has actually surpassed it. Alpine is still off it's peak, but those numbers may be skewed by the fact that between 2000-2008, Alpine's most expensive homes (e.g. Frick Mansion) were all on the market (in contrast, besides a few rapper homes, Saddle River's top homes weren't on the market then, and still for the most part aren't). Anyway, I believe 2011 was probably far more a buyers market in these towns than today.
Other well off towns like USR, FL, Tenafly, etc are close to their peak, but far from the bottom where deals were more plentiful.
High end Bergen, while not immune to market dynamics, has held quite well.
Agree with your thoughts re: Ramsey.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and while statistics may not lie, they often certainly don't tell the entire truth...however...statisticians do lie...
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and while statistics may not lie, they often certainly don't tell the entire truth...however...statisticians do lie...
Obviously one can manipulate statistics. However, it is not unreasonable to draw inferences from a variety of different sources.
This article discusses how there is a big gap in the housing recovery in northern NJ, and the higher end is actually faring a lot better, far from the bottom, though still off its peak.
I have a number of friends moving out of USR into Saddle River. Definite tax advantage, and then we could send our kids to private school (15-30k per year, so not exactly an equal trade off).
My friends in USR have had school system issues and some other issues, just seems a bit dicey for such a beautuful/wealthy area.
EANJ, I like that you put F.L. first that's our gut, we were just so afraid of the culture not being there, so thanks for the endorsement. If we have to up our budget, we will.
Have a great day!
I am not sure why your "number of friends" are moving out of USR...but I would ask them, and ask them a lot.
I have many friends/clients there -- almost all of them with school-aged children. The public schools as far as I know are well/highly rated. USR, SR and Allendale all share the same HS from what I gather. I have never heard of it being a "poor school" and again, well rated/highly rated. I will say that many of my friends/clients kids go to public school. The parents are well educated, and will want their kids to go on to higher education.
Ask. Find out what's going on. I (if I were you) would want to know what these "school system issues" are.
As far as FL, personally, I don't think you have to worry about "culture" so to speak.
Have you looked in demarest? A little closer to the city makes it a bit more cosmopolitan and it is a pretty place. Nvrhs is great and the housing stock is fairly diverse. Just a thought.
Obviously one can manipulate statistics. However, it is not unreasonable to draw inferences from a variety of different sources.
This article discusses how there is a big gap in the housing recovery in northern NJ, and the higher end is actually faring a lot better, far from the bottom, though still off its peak.
Thanks for the info. However, I was not speaking to the recovery, housing prices in general, etc., at all. I was in fact speaking to very specific issues about the # of houses in Saddle River which are "non-performing" from the lender's perspective, for sale vis a vis short sale, in foreclosure, etc.
Regardless, no point in going back and forth. Thanks again.
Have you looked in demarest? A little closer to the city makes it a bit more cosmopolitan and it is a pretty place. Nvrhs is great and the housing stock is fairly diverse. Just a thought.
Nice town. I considered moving there years ago for my last move. Different "dynamic" and closer to "the East Hill" area. I have friends/clients there and it's' nice. I think some would consider SR, USR, etc. a bit more "rural" in some respects, but it's relative and subjective.
For my tastes -- not the OP's of course -- I'd stick with my previous rankings. Good idea though.
Thanks for the info. However, I was not speaking to the recovery, housing prices in general, etc., at all. I was in fact speaking to very specific issues about the # of houses in Saddle River which are "non-performing" from the lender's perspective, for sale vis a vis short sale, in foreclosure, etc.
Regardless, no point in going back and forth. Thanks again.
Well I would argue that housing prices are directly related to the number of "non performing" houses, ie more short sales and foreclosures equals a lower price and less equals a higher overall price for the market.
I agree on agreeing to disagree though, no worries. Probably better to focus on the relevant issues in this thread and not letting it morph into something non-sequitur.
Have you looked in demarest? A little closer to the city makes it a bit more cosmopolitan and it is a pretty place. Nvrhs is great and the housing stock is fairly diverse. Just a thought.
Demarest is a great town, but I think the lot sizes will probably be even smaller than Ridgewood, or at best the same size.
In general, Northwest Bergen has a much greater country feel than Northeast Bergen.
If you want "community" I would not choose Saddle River. SR has mostly 2 acre or more zoning which leads to a lack of density (3200 population over 5 sq miles). You will rarely see your neighbors. The use of private schools by many families means a smaller school system (k-5, 1 school of about 200 students) and possibly less interaction with families with similar age children. There is a sending agreement with Ramsey for grades 6-8 and there are sending agreements with (family chooses) either Ramsey or Northern Highlands for high school.
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Wyckoff. It fits your needs, too. It will also have more houses in your price range. They share the Ramapo/Indian Hills high schools with Franklin Lakes and Oakland.
If you want "community" I would not choose Saddle River. SR has mostly 2 acre or more zoning which leads to a lack of density (3200 population over 5 sq miles). You will rarely see your neighbors. The use of private schools by many families means a smaller school system (k-5, 1 school of about 200 students) and possibly less interaction with families with similar age children. There is a sending agreement with Ramsey for grades 6-8 and there are sending agreements with (family chooses) either Ramsey or Northern Highlands for high school.
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Wyckoff. It fits your needs, too. It will also have more houses in your price range. They share the Ramapo/Indian Hills high schools with Franklin Lakes and Oakland.
Well OP flat out stated "think rural" implying less density and seems to prefer a lower tax rate. Despite, probably being out of budget, SR is the only town in Bergen with the 2 acre zoning and has low taxes. It would probably work out very well there if OP is able to find something.
I generally don't get into discussions of "community" and "interaction" with neighbors. To me, this depends much more on the company you keep than the town you live in. I think it's possible to make friends pretty much anywhere.
Agree on Wyckoff. It's tax rate is slightly higher than FL though. I've always thought of Wyckoff as a less affluent version of Franklin Lakes, similar to USR/SR, Glen Rock/Ridgewood, etc.
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