Research · Updated September 2026
Across the 90 towns we cover in Essex, Morris, Union, Somerset and Bergen counties, builders bought 1,342 older homes and lots from 2019 on and put up new houses. Here is where, what they paid, and what the new homes sold for.
Key Findings
The busiest towns for builders were Westfield, Livingston, Scotch Plains, Tenafly, Chatham. Purchases by year: 2019: 249 · 2020: 325 · 2021: 338 · 2022: 267 · 2023: 144 · 2024: 19. Recent years look smaller because a lot bought in 2024 or 2025 usually hasn't been rebuilt and recorded yet.
By Town
| Town | County | Lots rebuilt | Median paid | New homes resold | Median new home | Median difference | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield | Union | 139 | $700K | 69 | $1.7M | $1.08M | 17 |
| Livingston | Essex | 125 | $533K | 42 | $1.62M | $1.09M | 19 |
| Scotch Plains | Union | 113 | $460K | 75 | $1.23M | $792K | 14 |
| Tenafly | Bergen | 62 | $752K | 21 | $1.76M | $1.2M | 19 |
| Chatham | Morris | 57 | $760K | 38 | $1.96M | $1.32M | 15 |
| Clark | Union | 46 | $370K | 31 | $925K | $610K | 15 |
| Madison | Morris | 41 | $640K | 27 | $2M | $1.4M | 14 |
| Short Hills & Millburn | Essex | 41 | $1.25M | 20 | $3.54M | $2.41M | 19 |
| Ridgewood | Bergen | 40 | $818K | 17 | $1.65M | $990K | 18 |
| Florham Park | Morris | 32 | $578K | 7 | $1.93M | $1.36M | 16 |
| Paramus | Bergen | 32 | $610K | 8 | $1.65M | $1.06M | 20 |
| Parsippany | Morris | 32 | $278K | 19 | $755K | $509K | 16 |
| Upper Saddle River | Bergen | 32 | $650K | 11 | $2.65M | $1.8M | 22 |
| Franklin Lakes | Bergen | 28 | $825K | 6 | $4.19M | $3.28M | 37 |
| Englewood Cliffs | Bergen | 26 | $1.09M | 8 | $3.8M | $2.68M | 24 |
| Summit | Union | 25 | $940K | 13 | $2.7M | $1.76M | 17 |
| Mahwah | Bergen | 23 | $450K | 6 | $1.46M | $1.13M | 20 |
| Closter | Bergen | 22 | $592K | 9 | $2.5M | $1.9M | 21 |
| Englewood | Bergen | 22 | $948K | 3 | $2.88M | $2.08M | 22 |
| Saddle River | Bergen | 21 | $1.2M | 2 | |||
| Cresskill | Bergen | 19 | $460K | 7 | $1.66M | $1.17M | 23 |
| Warren | Somerset | 19 | $400K | 2 | |||
| Alpine | Bergen | 18 | $1.32M | 1 | |||
| Glen Rock | Bergen | 17 | $562K | 10 | $1.94M | $1.35M | 14 |
| New Providence | Union | 16 | $461K | 7 | $1.5M | $1M | 18 |
| Old Tappan | Bergen | 15 | $600K | 5 | $2.29M | $1.61M | 16 |
| Randolph | Morris | 15 | $159K | 3 | $955K | $825K | 45 |
| Fanwood | Union | 14 | $350K | 9 | $1M | $715K | 16 |
| Haworth | Bergen | 14 | $678K | 10 | $2.22M | $1.56M | 16 |
| Mountainside | Union | 14 | $519K | 3 | $1.4M | $821K | 17 |
| Berkeley Heights | Union | 12 | $395K | 9 | $1.21M | $850K | 15 |
| Demarest | Bergen | 12 | $942K | 3 | $3.16M | $2.38M | 22 |
| Montclair | Essex | 11 | $385K | 8 | $1.41M | $1.09M | 23 |
| Watchung | Somerset | 11 | $350K | 6 | $1.65M | $1.41M | 25 |
| Norwood | Bergen | 10 | $372K | 2 | |||
| Kinnelon | Morris | 9 | $220K | 1 | |||
| Long Hill | Morris | 9 | $300K | 2 | |||
| Morris Township | Morris | 9 | $525K | 1 | |||
| North Caldwell | Essex | 9 | $730K | 6 | $1.89M | $1.39M | 30 |
| Wyckoff | Bergen | 9 | $625K | 2 | |||
| Allendale | Bergen | 8 | $582K | 4 | $1.68M | $1.13M | 18 |
| Basking Ridge | Somerset | 8 | $470K | 3 | $1.65M | $1.18M | 13 |
| River Vale | Bergen | 8 | $415K | 4 | $1.16M | $720K | 25 |
| Woodcliff Lake | Bergen | 8 | $526K | 3 | $1.7M | $1.3M | 18 |
| Cranford | Union | 7 | $410K | 3 | $942K | $717K | 14 |
| Rahway | Union | 7 | $427K | 1 | |||
| West Orange | Essex | 6 | $322K | 0 | |||
| East Hanover | Morris | 5 | $365K | 0 | |||
| Ho-Ho-Kus | Bergen | 5 | $708K | 1 | |||
| Montvale | Bergen | 5 | $425K | 1 | |||
| Nutley | Essex | 5 | $290K | 3 | $800K | $510K | 15 |
Download the data (CSV). Free to cite with a link to this page.
Method
We took every usable single-family and vacant-land sale recorded with the NJ Division of Taxation (SR1A files, 2019 through June 2026) and matched it to the state's parcel records (NJGIN MOD-IV). A lot counts as a teardown when a builder bought it and the parcel now shows a house built in 2019 or later. "New home price" is the next recorded sale of the new house on the same lot. The difference between the two is not profit: demolition, construction, permits, financing and selling costs all come out of it. Medians, not averages, so one mansion doesn't skew a town. Numbers are updated as the state posts new records.
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