The Bergen County housing market is telling two stories this fall. Typical home values rose over the past year in every one of the 68 Bergen County towns tracked by Zillow's Home Value Index. At the same time, countywide listing data show more homes for sale and a lower median asking price than a year ago.
If you're thinking about buying a home in Allendale, Ramsey, Ridgewood or another Bergen County town, both trends matter. Home values tell you the price level of a town. Listings show what buyers are actually finding right now. And property taxes, which in Bergen County can run well past $15,000 a year, are a big part of the real cost of owning a home.
Here's what the latest numbers say, town by town.
How much is a home worth in Bergen County?
In Zillow's city-level Home Value Index for September 2026, 20 of the 68 Bergen County towns it covers have a typical home value above $1 million. Alpine is the most expensive, at about $3.21 million. Saddle River comes next at $2.42 million. At the other end, Hackensack has the lowest typical value in the dataset, about $463,000.
One thing to keep in mind: Zillow's index estimates the typical value of all homes in a town, single-family houses and condos or co-ops together. So the mix of housing matters. A lower town-wide number doesn't tell you what a particular four-bedroom colonial will cost.
Bergen County home values and property taxes by town
| Town | Typical home value, Sept. 2026 | 1-year change | Average residential tax bill, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | $3,209,000 | +13.1% | $23,291 |
| Saddle River | $2,415,000 | +13.3% | $20,339 |
| Ridgewood | $1,255,000 | +11.6% | $20,596 |
| Allendale | $1,114,000 | +9.1% | $17,912 |
| Paramus | $1,063,000 | +9.3% | $13,061 |
| Ramsey | $884,000 | +10.4% | $15,131 |
| Mahwah | $714,000 | +5.5% | $10,236 |
| Hackensack | $463,000 | +3.8% | $10,307 |
Home values are rounded to the nearest $1,000, and the yearly change compares September 2026 with September 2025. Tax bills are New Jersey's 2025 town averages, a separate measure, not the tax on the same homes.
Which Bergen County towns saw the biggest price increases?
The growth wasn't even. Demarest had the biggest one-year jump of all the towns covered, up 18.6%, followed by Ho-Ho-Kus at 14.1%. At the slow end, Cliffside Park rose just 1.1% and Teaneck 2.4%.
Over five years the gains add up. From September 2021 to September 2026, Ridgewood's typical home value rose about 50%. Allendale rose 38.6%, Ramsey 37.6% and Mahwah 32.8%. Those are raw changes in the index, before inflation, ownership costs or selling expenses, and they describe the past. They don't predict what comes next.
Is the Bergen County housing market cooling?
The homes for sale right now tell a different part of the story. Realtor.com's September 2026 county data for Bergen County show:
| Bergen County measure | September 2026 | Change from Sept. 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 1,801 | +18.4% |
| Median asking price | $759,675 | -4.4% |
| Median days on market | 39 days | +6.9% |
| Listings with a price cut that month | 304 | +18.8% |
Put together, that points to buyers having more choice, and homes taking a little longer to sell. It's not a crash, and it doesn't mean every town or every house is open to negotiation. But compared with a year ago, buyers have more breathing room.
Why are home values rising while asking prices fall?
It sounds like a contradiction, but the two numbers measure different things. Zillow estimates the value of all homes in a town, whether they're for sale or not. Realtor.com looks only at the homes listed for sale that month, and that mix changes all the time.
This September, the median listed home in Bergen County was 8.9% smaller than a year earlier. Smaller homes cost less, which may help explain the lower median asking price. County totals can't show how much of the drop comes from that change in mix, and how much from actual price cuts on comparable homes.
How much are property taxes in Bergen County towns?
Taxes make the comparison real. New Jersey's 2025 figures put the average residential tax bill at $17,912 in Allendale and $15,131 in Ramsey. That's a difference of $2,781 a year, or about $232 a month. Ridgewood averaged $20,596, against $13,061 in Paramus, a gap of roughly $628 a month.
Those are averages across each town's homes, not the bill you'd get on a specific house, and they're for 2025. When you set a budget, look up the actual tax record for the property you're considering, and add it to the mortgage, insurance, maintenance and any association fees.
What this means for buyers in 2026
Start wide, then narrow down. Town-wide values are useful for finding the places that fit your budget, but they won't tell you the price of a specific house. A lower town average can simply mean more condos.
Once you've picked a few towns, compare similar homes within them: same size, same type, similar condition. Then check what each one really costs to own every month, taxes included. A town average gives you context. The decision comes down to the house.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive town in Bergen County? Among the towns in Zillow's index, Alpine, with a typical home value of about $3.21 million in September 2026, followed by Saddle River at about $2.42 million.
Are Bergen County home prices still going up? Typical home values rose over the past year in all 68 towns covered by Zillow's index. Listing data, though, show more homes for sale, longer selling times and a lower median asking price than a year ago.
How many Bergen County towns have a typical home value over $1 million? Twenty of the 68 towns covered, as of September 2026.
Which Bergen County town had the biggest home value increase? Demarest, up 18.6% from September 2025 to September 2026, followed by Ho-Ho-Kus at 14.1%.
Information checked October 19, 2026. Home value estimates are revised over time, so figures may change.
Data and method. Home values use Zillow's smoothed, seasonally adjusted, all-homes, mid-tier Home Value Index (ZHVI) through September 30, 2026, retrieved October 19, 2026. Town growth rates come from the same series. "20 towns above $1 million" counts towns equally; it is not a share of Bergen County's homes. Rockleigh and Teterboro have no values in this Zillow dataset. County listing figures come from Realtor.com Economic Research's September 2026 county file (Bergen County, FIPS 34003); its days-on-market figure counts time from listing to closing or removal. Tax figures come from the New Jersey Division of Taxation's 2025 average residential tax table. No town-level listing conclusions are drawn from the county totals.
Sources
Zillow Research — Home Value Index data (city-level all-homes CSV through September 2026).
Realtor.com Economic Research — housing inventory data (county data CSV, September 2026).
New Jersey Division of Taxation — 2025 Average Residential Statistics (average tax bills by municipality).
More around Bergen
Get to know the towns: A Sunday Morning in Ramsey and What Is Open in Paramus on Sundays?
