9 NJ counties fall in top 150 in U.S. for highest home value

I grew up in a family that was less than middle-class.

My dad worked for the U.S. Postal Service and for my early childhood it was before the big strike in 1970, which finally brought them slightly better wages.

My mom? She worked for years at the old Quinn & Boden bookbinding factory in Rahway, where I grew up. Later, she would work in a machine shop. We were a blue-collar family without a lot of money.

Until age 10, I lived in a house that was 1,200 square feet, just like so many people did. Those who lived in homes that cost half a million dollars had swimming pools and finished basement rec rooms.

They had guest rooms whereas our guest room was a sleeping bag on the floor. They had wet bars where we had the top shelf of a kitchen cupboard. They had crown molding and wainscoting where we had wood paneling.

These days? The simple 1,200 square foot homes where everyone is sharing one bath and basements aren’t even finished are going for half a million dollars.

With this runaway seller’s market and a woeful lack of inventory, typical home value in New Jersey is now $494,792. That’s an increase of more than 6% from last year, and well above the national typical home value of $348,539.

According to the latest numbers from the real estate site Zillow.com New Jersey has 9 counties landing in the top 150 nationally for highest typical home value.

Good if you’re an owner, great if you’re a seller, the pits if you’re a buyer.

Take a scroll through the nine counties that made this elite list of the most valuable homes in the country.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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