South Jersey homes cheaper, than PA suburbs. But don't leave yet. It may cost you
Southern New Jersey has some of the lowest home values in the Philadelphia metro area, but lower taxes and other costs might make the Philadelphia suburbs a better bargain for home buyers.
The median home value in the 13-county region covering four states varies from $243,310 in Camden County, New Jersey, to $475,230 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania make up the second and third highest home values at $447,000 and $431,940, respectively, according to data collected by the National Association of Realtors in the third quarter of last year.
NAR uses the Census Bureau's American Community Survey of median housing prices for 3,112 counties and county equivalents across the U.S. Home values reflect the overall worth of all homes in a given area rather than solely home sales data, according to the association.
In a national ranking based on the highest home value in each state, California ranks highest in the country with Santa Clara County’s $1.58 million home prices. New Jersey actually ranks higher than Pennsylvania, where Chester County’s $447,000 home value put the Keystone State at 28th on that list and Bergen County’s $607,170 placing the Garden State at 17th highest home price.
Locally, Pennsylvania and New Jersey swap places for most expensive homes, where Salem, Camden and Gloucester have some of the lowest home prices out of the entire metro area — from $243,310 to $303,540.
Levittown's hot housing market: 22 homes sold for over $500k in Levittown. 1 nets nearly $700k in hot Bucks County market
More than home values, consider the property taxes
Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars buying a home in New Jersey might be a good draw for potential buyers, but Bucks County Association of Realtors President Stephanie Garomon said there’s a good reason she tends to see more people leaving New Jersey than Pennsylvania.
“Taxes are lower here,” said Garomon, an agent at Addison Wolfe Real Estate, in New Hope. “I would say that's the biggest draw for people in New Jersey … coming to this part of Bucks County.”
That’s not just Garomon’s opinion, as a Monmouth University Poll released last week estimated that nearly half of all New Jerseyans would like to leave the state over its high taxes and cost of living.
New Jersey’s overall cost of living is about 11% higher than the national average, according to information on apartment listing website RentCafe.com.
RentCafe also posts cost of living comparisons using data from the Council For Community and Economic Research, which just updated its cost of living estimates earlier this month.
Moving a floating museum in NJ: Battleship moves; Floating museum leaves Camden today as USS New Jersey goes to dry dock
Pennsylvania’s cost of living is about 4% lower than the national average, with housing costs falling about 17% under the national average as well.
New Castle, Delaware, falls in middle ground for the region, with an median home price of about $345,990 and the cost of living and things like utilities, food and other expenses also remaining within single digits of the nation average overall.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania might be better option than New Jersey for home buyers
