So you need to commute to NYC and you can't spend $1Million on a house??? Check out these GREAT New Jeresy neighborhoods - in these midtown direct "walk to train" locations!

So you need to commute to NYC and you can't spend $1Million on a house??? Check out these GREAT New Jeresy neighborhoods - in these midtown direct "walk to train" locations!

February 1st, 2009 by Sue Adler
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Communities, Commuting Info, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Summit

What a day! 3 open houses on our three new listings - Two are getting at least one offer, and we had 27-30 people at each one. All three of these homes are priced in the $500's. My team was also booked all weekend with buyers. What does all of this mean?

1. There has been so much pent up demand for great AFFORDABLE homes that the nice ones that are priced right are flying off the market.

2. The entry level market has now come down to a level where buyers can jump into the market. Of course the low interest rates have added the cherry on the top.

3. Even in a "buyer's market", you will always be able to re-sell a well priced home with close proximity to trains to NYC. This is what most buyers moving out from NYC are looking for.

4. Has this segment of the market hit bottom?

So where can you find these more affordable homes? Below are neighborhoods in each of the midtown direct trainline towns that are under a mile to the train.

South Orange - South of South Orange Ave, there are two neighborhoods that are easily walkable and you can find housing that won't break the bank. The area between Walton Rd and Wyoming Ave is one ( Conway Ct, Rynda, West End Rd, Lenox Ave to name a few streets) and the streets surrounding Seton Hall University are the other. North of South Orange Ave there are the Hart Dr ranch homes, and further north you can occasionally find a smaller home nestled amongst the larger ones off of Wyoming Ave. The same would be true of the Montrose Section.

Maplewood- Much of Maplewood fits the bill and that's why so many buyers move here from Park Slope, Brooklyn, and NYC. East of Valley Rd, across from Memorial Park, is very popular among the "walk to train" crowd. Here are two examples: www.sueadler.com/35Kensington and www.sueadler.com/36Madison Houses within a few blocks of Maplewood Village may be in the $500k-700k range, but they don't seem to come on the market very often. There are homes on Jefferson Ave and some of the surrounding streets such as Brookside Rd, have sold in the $500k's and 600's as well.

Millburn- The South Mountain Section and Wyoming Sections are the two largest neighborhoods that are "walk to train, town, Taylor Park, Wyoming Elem or South Mountain Elem, middle and high school ". There are also many small streets off of Millburn Ave that are close by as well.Homes range from the $400k's to the 800k's with a few exceptions in the South Mountain Section.In the Wyoming Section you can easily find homes in this range, but there are also more expensive homes over $1Million.