New Jersey outpaces US housing market, tops nation in price growth
US national average home price growth was just 0.5% in February as Garden State hit nearly 6%
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While the rest of the country grapples with a stalled housing market and high interest rates, New Jersey has emerged as the nation's top leader in home price growth.
Driven by high-wage jobs and a Manhattan exodus, the state is outpacing the national average and outperforming former COVID-era hotspots like Florida.
According to a recent report from Cotality, the Garden State isn’t just growing; it’s outpacing the field by a wide margin, with home prices climbing nearly 6% in February from the previous year. The U.S. national average growth during that same period was just 0.5%.
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More specifically, Newark recorded a 6.7% year-over-year price jump, marking the steepest hike among the 100 largest metros in the U.S.
Newark's skyline reflects on the banks of the Passaic River at night. (Getty Images)
Housing supply in New Jersey remains well below pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 40% of homes being sold above asking prices.
"These diverse trends indicate an ongoing process of price discovery — one where sales and comparisons remain limited — and underscore a market that is rebalancing locally rather than correcting nationally," Cotality chief economist Selma Hepp said in the report.
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"Although the steady decrease in mortgage rates prior to the spring homebuying season raised hopes for a rebound in home prices and sales in 2026, the recent surge in rates has reduced demand in the housing market," she added, "shifting expectations for a broader recovery this year."
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The New Jersey boom can be linked to workers getting priced out of New York City who are choosing its neighboring state to avoid sacrificing their full paychecks while maintaining transit access. Many of these new commuters are in the finance, pharmaceutical or biotechnology sectors.
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Going south to the Sun Belt and the Western frontier, Cotality data also indicates that formerly red-hot markets are starting to see corrections: Florida dropped more than 2% in price, Washington, D.C. and Montana saw similar declines of around 3% and a total of 13 states recorded outright price declines in February.