Ridgewood Real Estate

$1,075,000 – 627 Grove St, Ridgewood NJ

Ridgewood Real Estate 

NOVEMBER 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY DONNA ROLANDO
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD |
THE RECORD

Leave the car behind if you want to see what draws many home buyers to Ridgewood.

Day and night, the central business district along Ridgewood Avenue and its branches is alive with pedestrian activity. A movie theater, trendy shops and a variety of ethnic restaurants – some with bistro-style sidewalk dining – add to this downtown’s vibrancy.

Home buyers Dominique Davis and her husband, Charles, traveled farther than most before setting their roots in Ridgewood in October 2010. Formerly from Switzerland, they heard rave reports about Bergen County from Charles’ colleagues, and they came to appreciate Ridgewood while dining downtown.

It was a meal they had at the recommendation of their sales agent, Maryanne Connaughton of The Ridgewood Group of Terrie O’Connor Realtors, as a way to experience the town.

$949,000 – 285 Richards Rd, Ridgewood NJ

“When we shopped at Ridgewood and had a meal, it was so gorgeous,” Dominique said. “I thought, my girls would love to be able to shop and walk downtown. It was really a charmer.”

They were looking in towns like Ramsey and Allendale that all had good schools, but Ridgewood schools had a principal who went out of the way to accommodate their children during a midyear move, and that made a big difference, Dominique said.

But they soon ran up against one of the other characteristics of Ridgewood: expensive real estate coupled with what Connaughton called a historically low inventory.

“We were surprised by the prices. We didn’t think it would be that expensive,” Dominique said.

$2,595,000 – 310 Heights Rd, Ridgewood NJ

“Ridgewood real estate consistently ranks among the most expensive in the U.S.,” Connaughton said.

For the 80 Ridgewood homes on the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service, prices range from $297,900 for a two-bedroom, one-bath ranch to $2,595,000 for a five-bedroom, 5 1/2-bath colonial.

The Davises were able to buy a smaller house to get their foot in the door and then move up to a more spacious place – a grand colonial – when it became available more than a year ago. Their strategy is not uncommon; people often move around town as their budgets expand.

https://www.northjersey.com/towns/classy-downtown-first-class-schools-1.1134602