Guide Me Home to North Jersey

Embracing the spirit of the season, I want to share with you all the wonderful gifts of Harding Township, NJ. Look for one gift every day!

The 9th gift is Harding’s low taxes. This is particularly important when considering the cost of the house you want to purchase (as differentiated from the price of the house). Harding rates are 1.031 per $100 valuation. Compare this to similar surrounding areas such as Mendham Borough at 1.899, Mendham Township at 1.887, Bernards Township at 1.676 (2009). This translates to $5,155 per year on a $500,000 home in Harding vs. $9,495 per year in Mendham Borough.

A large portion of a municipality’s tax burden can be found in the cost of high schools. Harding does not have its own high school and uses nearby Madison High School for its students. This relieves its residents of huge maintenance, building, and educational fees.

Tax rates for all of NJ (2009) can be found by clicking here.

The 10th “gift” will be Harding’s annual Santa visit. Open it up next!

PS- Don’t forget to read my other blogs below that may have more extensive information.

Posted by:  Mary Jane Benedetto

It’s that time of year, when many high school seniors and their parents anxiously await a response from college admissions departments. The NJ Student Report Cards once again give me confidence that our local students are well prepared to compete. The latest results, released by the NJ Department of Education, show that both Ridge High School (Bernards Township) and Bernards High School (serving Bernardsville, Far Hills, Bedminster and Peapack Gladstone), excel compared to the rest of the state. At Ridge, the average SAT score was 1,715 and at Bernards the average SAT score was 1,703 versus the state median of 1,500.

According to the College Board, these scores are within the range of such area schools as Penn State, Rutgers, Muhlenberg, Fordham, Quinnipiac and University of Delaware. Or for those going a bit further away, they would be ready for University of Vermont, Purdue, University of North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, and University of Colorado.

Congratulations to all of the hard working students, teachers and administrators. And for the students, the best is yet to come!

For more information on the School Report Card go, click here.

For information on specific Colleges, click here.

Posted by: Susan Wagner

In last Sunday’s New York Times the headline in the Real Estate section was “For the Brave, the Moment is Now”. The article goes on to say that in New York City, in the last few weeks, first time homebuyers are beginning to take advantage of depressed prices and very attractive mortgage rates. Buyers without a place to sell, who have stable jobs and good credit are certainly in the drivers seat right now. Many who previously were priced out of the market can now afford to own their own home.

Traditionally, as the New York City market picks up, the increase in activity ripples out to surrounding areas. The homes that are moving in our area tend to be the lower priced homes. Fourteen Condominiums or Townhomes went Under Contract in the last month, in the area of Bernards Township, Bedminster and Bernardsville, which is two more than the same time last year. So the dream of home ownership is now becoming a reality for some who previously found it just out of their grasp.

Posted by: Susan Wagner