By Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
These markets are the crème de la crème of New Jersey real estate right now.
With housing prices rising while inventory is at a 20-year low, the housing market in the Garden State is ripe for a housing boom. And towns from Hudson to Monmouth are vying for a spot at the top.
Capturing the quick-moving real estate market with data is never easy, but this strategy aims to show the gist of the latest changes. Using the Zillow home value index — based on recent home sales — the list was narrowed to towns that have seen peak home values in the last two quarters.
Those towns were then ranked by the year-over-year change in median home value.
A number of towns fell off the list from this summer: Woodcliff Lake, Millburn, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Bay Head, Maplewood and South Orange.
Here are the towns that come out the hottest in the most recent real estate power rankings.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
15. Madison
Madison, a town of 16,000, is a first-timer to the power rankings, but its year-over-year growth was enough to put it in the running.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
14. Palisades Park
This Bergen County town is another newcomer. With a median household income of $64,700, the town has another lower-than-average home value for this list. But the town has seen not only strong yearly growth, but a 5 percent increase in house values over the past five years, making it a potentially up-and-coming spot.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
13. Demarest
This borough of 5,000, a newcomer to the list, has a high median income of $163,600.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
12. Glen Rock
Glen Rock is another small Bergen town with a high median income — $155,200. Most of the households are married couples, suggesting this borough has become a destination for families.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
11. Princeton
This college town has a lower-than-average median age but a far higher-than-average median income of $114,600. Twenty percent of residents have moved in the past year, suggesting that its real estate placement may be the result of temporary residents.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
10. Moonachie
The smallest town on this list has seen a heavy drop from the last list, going from 6th to 10th. It also has one of the lowest house values in the power rankings.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
9. Rumson
Rumson, a town of 7,000 with a median income nearly double the state median, has seen a meteoric rise on this list, going from last to ninth. It's also the most expensive of the contenders, showing how the market for some pricey housing has bounced back.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
8. Fair Haven
Fair Haven, a borough in Monmouth County of 6,000, appears on the list for the first time. The town is nine-tenths married couples, so families are a major driver of growth.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
7. Chatham Township
This wealthy township of 10,600 is another family town that has cropped up on the list for the first time.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
6. Chatham Borough
These neighbors on the list are also neighbors in real life, but this borough's median home value is more than $100,000 less.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
5. Carlstadt
This Bergen County borough of 6,000 has a median income more in line with the rest of the state. It's fallen slightly from the previous list, but its 4 percent five-year growth makes it still a contender.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
4. Hoboken
Hoboken, the second-largest town on the list and one of the most urban, saw a three-place gain from the summer.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
3. Asbury Park
Asbury Park has seen re-development in recent years, a contributor to its high spot on the list for a second quarter. The city is also relatively young, with a median age of 35 compared to a county median of 42.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
2. Jersey City
Jersey City has also seen strong growth — it was one of the few cities in the state to see income growth in the past decade while others struggled to recover from the recession. The second-largest city in the state, Jersey City has a median age of 34 and a median income of $63,000.
(Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media)
1. Weehawken
Weehawken lands at the top of this list for the third time in a row, making it definitively of the hottest markets in the state. The Jersey City neighbor has double Jersey City's property values, making it a home for wealthier residents looking for a way to commute.
(Matt Dowling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
More on real estate in New Jersey
- 10 biggest boom and bust towns for real estate
- Real Estate Power Rankings: The 15 hottest markets
- The 19 hottest real estate markets in N.J. are surging
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