Where Does The Housing Market Stand in Wayne and the Rest of Northern NJ?

The real estate market across Northern New Jersey continues to show a mix of growth, stability, and a few surprises, depending on the county. All counties continue to see steady price gains as more homes are hitting the market, except for Hudson, which is showing slightly less than flat sale prices and a 5% decrease in new listings. To be fair, Hudson's inventory and sale prices fluctuate constantly.

 

In May 2025, we saw 30,000 homes for sale, which hadn’t happened since November 2022 for the entire state. That number went above and below that mark throughout the summer, but we seem to be back on track with nearly 33,000 homes for sale now, an 11% increase from last year. This shows growth, but there is still a long way to go. For context, in August 2022, there were 40,000 homes for sale, and five years ago, in July, there were more than 52,000. Keep in mind, New Jersey is NOT the rest of the country, as we are in our own little bubble of maintaining a lack of homes for sale and rising home prices.

 

The biggest shifts this week are showing up in Passaic and Hudson Counties, and the contrast between them says a lot about how different each local market can be.

 

Passaic County stands out as the strongest performer in Northern New Jersey in August, and I would say for the entire year, as the county has maintained an increase in inventory and sale prices every month since early May. As you can see in the table, Passaic has the largest gains for both of these statistics in the area. On paper, it looks like a win-win for both buyers and sellers, as more homes are available to purchase while values continue to rise. The catch is that homes are taking longer to sell, averaging 64 days on market. That’s the second-highest in Northern NJ, which is unusual since Hudson and Bergen usually hold those top spots. Longer days on the market often mean buyers are being more selective as more choices become available, or that there is a pricing strategy issue.

 

By comparison, Bergen and Hudson Counties typically see the longest days on the market, which is often due to higher asking prices and more competitive, dense submarkets. In these areas, sellers aim too high when listing their property, and it takes either a price drop or a buyer willing to ignore the high asking price and negotiate before the property owner makes an adjustment. (For anyone looking in these areas, it’s a good idea to look at homes above your price range, as you may find yourself in a good position to negotiate a home within your means).

 

Meanwhile, Morris County statistically has performed well all year. Inventory there is up 11%, almost as much as Passaic County, yet prices have stabilized at around $700,000. This is not too far down from its highs in June and July, when we saw median sale prices up to $734,000. What makes Morris stand out is how quickly homes sell, as it consistently outperforms the other counties. Homes here have been selling in less than three weeks on average for most of the year. This shows that buyer demand is strong enough to keep the market moving and that most homes are being priced correctly (at or below market value) for this market.

 

 

Northern New Jersey’s housing market is far from one-size-fits-all. Passaic County is leading in both inventory growth and price gains. Morris continues to be the most consistent with fast-moving sales and steady inventory growth. Hudson shows the most volatility, as it normally seems to do, while Bergen maintains the lead in the highest median sale price and longest time for homes to sell.

 

Looking closer into Wayne's market, the median sale price for single-family homes was $855,700 compared to $805,000 this time last year — a 6.3% increase. That increase is significant considering homes were selling at about the same speed, and we had a similar amount of homes for sale.

 

I pulled this data directly from the Garden State MLS, which is the primary MLS in our footprint and provides more accurate numbers from listed homes.

 

I’m sure you already know the answer if you’ve seen the traffic at just about any home for sale in town. The statistic that typically tracks if a town or area is in a seller's market is the “months supply” of inventory.

 

Wayne currently has a 1.8-month supply of homes for sale, which is an incredibly fast-moving market. A balanced market, where neither sellers nor buyers have the advantage, typically has 4 to 6 months of supply.

 

We may see a change once the Feds cut interest rates this month (September), but for now, I expect more of the same: inventory and prices continuing to climb, and sale prices going up.

 

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