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Prepare your home for fall 2024: tips, what you should know
Looking for tips on how to prepare your home for fall? Here are some ideas to consider.
Certain areas are often popular draws for home buyers. Whether it’s due to home prices, quality of schools, proximity to amenities, or other things, these neighborhoods can quickly become some of the hottest places to live in the country when it comes to buying a home.
And this year, two North Jersey zip codes were named among the top 10 most popular zip codes for home buying in 2024, according to Realtor.com’s annual rankings. They include 07920 in Basking Ridge and 08054 in Mount Laurel.
Basking Ridge’s 07920 ZIP code is the fourth most popular in the country for home buying this year. The Somerset County suburb came in just behind Gahanna, Ohio, which, along with Ballwin, Missouri and Salem, Massachusetts, was the most popular ZIP code for home buying in the country for the second year in a row.
Although Basking Ridge had the most expensive market on the list in June, with a median asking price of $995,000, this community is relatively affordable compared to other areas in the New York metropolitan area, according to the report. Homes for sale here also stay on the market for about 16 days.
“Located just 37 miles from Manhattan, the 07920 zip code in Basking Ridge, NJ offers large homes at a price significantly lower (-33.6%) than the median list price per square foot in the metropolitan area,” the report said. “The zip code offered buyers significant value in an idyllic setting that is also within commuting distance of New York City.”
Not far behind is Mount Laurel’s 08054 zip code, which the report found was the sixth hottest for home purchases in the country in 2024. With a median home price of $441,000 in June, this Burlington County community offers buyers a more affordable price while being within commuting distance of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Homes for sale here stay on the market for about 18 days.
The Northeast dominates the 10 most popular zip codes for home buying
According to the report, the Northeast will have seven of the top 10 home-buying zip codes in the country by 2024.
In addition to the New Jersey suburbs of Basking Ridge and Mount Laurel, the remaining five Northeastern ZIP codes include No. 3 Salem, Massachusetts (01970); No. 5 Rochester, New York (14609); No. 7 Leominster, Massachusetts (01453); No. 8 Westfield, Massachusetts (01085); and No. 10 Macungie, Pennsylvania (18062).
“Although mortgage rate relief is on the horizon, this year’s most popular ZIP codes reflect the focus on affordability that homebuyers have had in recent years amid high housing costs,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “Concentrated in larger metropolitan areas in the Northeast and Midwest, these top 10 ZIP codes attracted highly qualified homebuyers seeking more space without sacrificing proximity to urban amenities.”
Realtor.com also released its list of the 50 most popular zip code areas in the country for home buying in 2024. At number 38, Trenton’s 08610 zip code is the only New Jersey community listed outside the top 10.
Last year, Ridgewood’s 07450 zip code was named the third hottest in the country for home buying in 2023, and Sewell’s 08080 and Hightstown’s 08520 zip codes ranked 19th and 38th, respectively. But none of those three cities make this year’s rankings.
This ranking by Realtor.com was determined by taking into account market demand based on the number of unique views of property listings, as well as market momentum based on the number of days a listing remains active. The most popular zip codes had a high number of unique views per property and listings that remained active for shorter periods of time.
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things North Jersey living. You can find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, To X @maddiemcgayyand sign up for their Living in North Jersey Newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or great house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.
