New Jersey
Here’s what rent prices look like in NJ, and the US, at the start of 2024
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As home prices have continued to soar and mortgage rates remain high, many would-be first-time buyers are opting to stay in the rental market longer.
This might be the more doable financial option for many — with median rent prices continuing to decline across the nation for the sixth month in a row −— but those living in the Northeast have experienced consistent price increases in comparison, according to Realtor.com’s January 2024 Rental Report.
What do rent prices look like across the country?
In the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, median rent prices were approximately $1,721 in January, a 0.3% decrease from the same time last year.
This is a slower decrease compared to the 0.8% year-over-year decrease seen in December 2023, and median asking rents nationwide are still about $265 more than those seen before the pandemic in 2020.
Studio units have seen the largest rent declines across the country, with prices decreasing by 1% compared to January 2024 and with median asking rents of $1,434. These prices are down by $56 from its peak in October 2022, but $153 higher than before the pandemic.
Two-bedroom rentals have seen the second largest rent decline at 6%, with median asking rents of $1,892. In comparison, one-bedroom rentals have seen a 0.1% increase in prices compared to January 2023, with median asking rents of $1,591.
How do rental prices in New Jersey compare?
Compared to big Western rental markets like Phoenix, Riverside and Las Vegas — which all saw rent prices decline for eight months before seeing their first year-over-year price growth in January 2024 — the New York metropolitan area has experienced faster rent growth.
This region — which includes the North Jersey counties of Hudson, Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Sussex — has median rents of $2,844. This is 2.3% more than median rent prices seen in our area this time last year.
The report credits the steady increase in rent prices in our area to expensive home prices and high mortgage rates are keeping buyers in the rental market, boosting demand and putting pressure on rents in popular areas.
A strong labor market and the slowing growth of new multi-family homes is also said to play a role in increasing prices.
“Consequently, the stronger labor market in the Northeast is likely contributing to an increased demand for rentals, rendering it more competitive compared to the rental market in the West,” according to the report.
“Although both regions saw record-high new multi-family starts in 2022, we expect a significant portion of 2022 starts in the Northeast to be completed in 2024,” the report reads.
How were these finding compiled?
Realtor.com analyzed rental data for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units advertised as for-rent on their site as of January 2024. Rental units include apartments and private rentals such as condos, townhomes and single-family homes.
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.
The Wildwoods is known for its wide beaches, lively boardwalk and being a haven for “Doo Wop” fans.
Once on the island, it is hard to miss this funky, colorful architecture synonymous with the Wildwoods.
“We like to think it’s still in its heyday,” John Donio, the President of the Doo Wop Preservation League, said. “Our collection is one of the finest on the entire East Coast, right here in Wildwood.”
Marked by a neon sign garden, the Doo Wop Experience Museum sits across from the Wildwoods Convention Center in Fox Park. Inside, the museum houses dozens of items. The building used to be the iconic Surfside Diner.
“We’ve been lucky to get different people to donate neon signs, furniture, bicycles, period pieces,” Donio said.
Karen Samuels serves as the tour guide for the Guided Trolley Tour.
“I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and that’s what the tour is all about,” Samuels said. “It’s a midcentury architecture and music scene of the Doo Wop history.”
The museum is free, and starting next month, it will be open Thursday through Sunday until Labor Day weekend.
“This tells the story of the Wildwoods. It’s the fabric of our community,” Donio said.
It’s the community that’s kept doo wop alive and well.
Football schedules for the 2025 season are starting to be announced all across the Garden State and High School On SI New Jersey will share these as we see them.
Plainfield High School, under the direction of first-year head coach Donald Jones, a Plainfield alumnus and former defensive back with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, has announced its 2025 schedule.
The big news surrounding Plainfield’s upcoming schedule is that the annual Thanksgiving Day game vs. Westfield, a rivalry that was the state’s third-longest Turkey Day matchup, dating back to 1899 during the William McKinley Administration, will be played as the season opener in 2025 for both teams on August 28 in Plainfield.
The reason for switching the traditional Thanksgiving Day game vs. Plainfield to the season opener has to do with the ever-expanding NJSIAA state playoffs. The New Jersey high school football playoffs in 2025 will begin on November 7 or 8, for the first round, with the state finals potentially being played at MetLife Stadium or Rutgers University between November 28 and December 3, according to the NJSIAA. This year, Thanksgiving Day will fall on November 27.
“They’ve extended the state playoffs so long that it became a safety concern,” said Westfield High School Director of Athletics James DeSarno. “This was a mutual decision between Plainfield High School and ourselves and one that was made in the interest of safety.”
Westfield leads the all-time series 66-46-7 but the Cardinals snapped the Blue Devils’ 13-game winning streak in the series last season, claiming its first win since 2011 with a hard-fought 14-9 defensive battle on a rain-soaked field in Westfield.
This year’s season-opening tilt vs. Westfield is the first of three straight home games at the historic Hub Stein Sports Complex Stadium, as the Cardinals will then host New Brunswick on September 5 and Woodbridge on September 12. Plainfield’s first road test comes on September 19 at Perth Amboy, followed by another road game the following week at the Haverford School in Pennsylvania on September 27.
After that it’s home tests vs. Franklin (October 3) and Colonia (October 10), before closing out the regular season with road games vs. Somerville (October 17) and Linden (October 25).
Jones played collegiately at Lackawanna, then Youngstown State before being signed as an undrafted free agent by Buffalo in 2010. For the last three years, he’s been the wide receivers coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in nearby Edison, which hasn’t lost a Big Central Conference football game since November of 2020, a 31-game streak.
The first-year Plainfield mentor takes over a program that went 6-4 a year ago which included a second straight appearance in the NJSIAA Playoffs where the Cards dropped an 18-12 decision to Passaic Tech in a North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 quarterfinal round game.
8/28 vs. Westfield 6pm
9/5 vs. New Brunswick 6pm
9/12 vs Woodbridge 6pm
9/19 at Perth Amboy 6:00pm
9/27 at The Haverford School 1:00pm
10/3 vs. Franklin 6:00pm
10/10 vs. Colonia 6:00pm
10/17 at Somerville 6:00pm
10/25 at Linden 1:00pm
Follow High School On SI throughout the 2025 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.
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