Are you considering a move to the suburbs? Buyers come in all shapes and sizes, but their concerns are universal. What is my buying power in the suburbs? What are the schools like? How could I commute to the city? If you were unable to join us for our Decoding the Suburbs presentation, please check out the information below.

Considering a Move to the Suburbs? What is my Buying Power?

If you are considering buying in the Millburn Short Hills area, $1M spent on a house will, on average, allow you to purchase a 4 bedroom house with between 2.5 and 4.5 baths. You can expect taxes to be between $14,000-$18,000 annually. If Summit NJ is the town that has piqued your interest, $1M spent in Summit, on average, will allow you to purchase a home with 4-5 bedrooms and between 2.5 and 4.5 baths. Taxes are approximately $16,000-$18,000/year. If you decide to move to the Chathams, spending $1M on a home there will give you the purchasing power to buy a home with approximately 4 bedrooms and between 2 and 3 baths. Average annual taxes in the Chathams are approximately $11,000-$15,000. To learn more about your purchasing power for other suburban towns, please be sure to contact us!

Considering a Move to the Suburbs? What are the Schools Like?

School rankings are a cause of angst and confusion for many people. If one source ranks a particular school fairly high, while another ranks it lower, which source should you believe? In short, the answer is all of them. You should see where a particular school or district ranks between one source and the next, and then check it against the previous ranking. Was there a dramatic drop in ranking? Are all of the rankings within a few numbers of each other? These are the things you want to take into consideration. Now, the long answer goes into knowing the criteria that goes into the formula that produces the school or school district's rank. Often the factors that go into the ranking include standardized test scores, graduation rates, extracurricular offerings, student-to-teacher ratios, and class size. Great places to get school ranking information include: Niche.com, GreatSchools.org, NJMonthly.com, and the Board of Education websites. On a sidenote, often school information that is reported in Zillow is incorrect. Zillow does a radius search, and sometimes a school is listed for a property for which that property is not zoned. Reach out to us if you would like more information regarding local school districts!

Considering a Move to the Suburbs? How Could I Commute to the City?

For your commute into the city, consider the Midtown Direct Train Line. The Midtown Direct Train Line offers you direct access to NY Penn Station. Suburban towns on this train line are at a premium demand and are highly sought after. Other commuting options to consider are commuting by bus or jitney service. Commuting by bus may offer you more affordability and flexibility. Some towns offer jitney service to area train stations. More information regarding commuting can be found at NJTransit.com and DeCamp.com.

Shannon Aronson is a real estate agent in the Millburn Short Hills NJ area.