This New Jersey town ranks as the country's fourth-hottest in 2024 for home buying

Certain areas tend to frequently be popular real estate hubs for buyers. Whether it's due to home prices, quality of schools, proximity to amenities or anything else, these neighborhoods can quickly become some of the hottest homebuying neighborhoods in the nation.

And this year, two North Jersey ZIP codes were named among the nation's top 10 hottest homebuying ZIP codes for 2024, according to Realtor.com's annual ranking. This includes Basking Ridge's 07920 and Mount Laurel's 08054.

Basking Ridge's 07920 ZIP code is the fourth-hottest in the country for buying so far this year. The Somerset County suburb ranked just below Gahanna, Ohio, which ranked as the hottest homebuying ZIP in the nation for the second year in a row, along with Ballwin, Missouri and Salem, Massachusetts.

While Basking Ridge had the list's priciest market, with a median listing price of $995,000 in June, this community is relatively affordable compared to other areas in the New York metropolitan area, according to the report. Homes for sale also stay on the market for about 16 days here.

"ZIP 07920 in Basking Ridge, NJ is just 37 miles from Manhattan and offers large homes priced significantly (-33.6%) lower than the metro's median listing price per square foot," the report reads. "The ZIP offered buyers significant value in an idyllic setting that is also within commuting distance of New York City."

Not far behind, Mount Laurel's 08054 ZIP code was named the sixth-hottest for homebuying in the nation so far in 2024, according to the report. With a median home price of $441,000 in June, this Burlington County community offers a more affordable price point for buyers while also being within commuting distance of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Homes for sale here stay on the market for about 18 days.

Northeast dominates the 10 hottest ZIP codes for homebuying

The Northeast makes up seven of the 10 hottest homebuying ZIP codes in the nation so far in 2024, according to the report.

In addition to the New Jersey suburbs of Basking Ridge and Mount Laurel, the remaining five Northeast ZIP codes include No. 3 Salem, Massachusetts (01970); No. 5 Rochester, New York (14609); No. 7 Leominster, Massachusetts (01453); No. 8 Westfield, Massachusetts (01085); and No. 10 Macungie, Pennsylvania (18062).

"Although mortgage rate relief is starting to materialize, this year's hottest ZIPs reflect the focus on affordability that home shoppers have had over the last few years in the face of high housing costs," said Realtor.com's Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "Concentrated in larger metros across the Northeast and Midwest, these top 10 ZIPs attracted highly qualified home buyers seeking more space without relinquishing proximity to urban amenities."

Realtor.com also released the list of the nation's 50 hottest homebuying ZIPs in the nation for 2024. Ranking 38th, Trenton's 08610 ZIP code was the only New Jersey community listed beyond the top 10.

Last year, Ridgewood's 07450 ZIP code was named the third-hottest in the country for homebuying in 2023 and Sewell's 08080 ZIP and Hightstown's 08520 ZIP ranked 19th and 38th, respectively. But none of these three towns make this year's ranking.

This ranking from Realtor.com was determined by taking into account market demand based on the number of unique views of property listings, as well as the pace of the market based on the number of days a listing remains active. The hottest ZIP codes had a high number of unique viewers per property and listings that remained active for shorter periods of time.

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.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ town ranks as the country's fourth-hottest for home buying