The Essex County Real Estate Tax vs School Performance Mashup

The Hudson County Real Estate Tax vs School Performance Mashup

If you’re moving to Hudson County for the first time and wondering which town is right for you, there is more to consider besides home values especially if you have a family. After you explore the local resources, culture and transportation options available in the different areas of Hudson County, knowing each city’s property tax rate versus local school performance can be the deciding factor in which neighborhood you choose. It may come as a surprise to know that the city with the highest property tax does not always have the high school with the highest SAT score.

Above Average

(see the formula below we used to calculate the tax amount)

• Jersey City – Tax: $4,013 SAT: 1692
• Secaucus – Tax: $4,234 SAT: 1445
• Kearny – Tax: $6,169 SAT: 1382
• Hoboken – Tax: $3,048 SAT: 1160

(click on image to see a larger version)

What Our Research Shows

For Hudson County, Jersey City is the best choice for lower estimated property taxes and a relatively high SAT score at Dr Ronald Mc Nair Academy HS (1692) compared to the rest of the schools in the county. West New York, Bayonne and Kearny come out with the highest property taxes in the county coupled with moderate SAT scores compared to North Bergen, Secaucus and Jersey City.

2010 Hudson County Education Budget Cuts

How is your town going to be affected by the cuts to Education? Take a look below at each town in alphabetical order:

District Change in Aid

• Bayonne City -10.3%
• East Newark Boro -6.9%
• Guttenberg Town -14.1%
• Harrison Town -7.2%
• Hoboken City -12%
• Hudson County Voc -10.8%
• Jersey City -4.9%
• Kearny Town -12.9%
• North Bergen TWP -7.5%
• Secaucus Town -100%
• Union City -4.7%
• Weehawnen TWP -26.9%
• West New York Town -4.1%

(more news on the NJ Education Budget Cuts)

What do you take away from this information?
Obviously there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage, interest, comments as well as concern on this subject… What is your opinion? We’d like to know. Please share your thoughts and comments below. This is your opportunity to be your town’s local spokesperson!

To see available properties in Hoboken, Jersey City, Bayonne, West New York, Port Liberte and Kearny please click the links to visit our property search pages.

Send me an email or call me immediately at 201-988-1393 for a personal and confidential conversation. Whether your considering buying or selling, we can help.

Footnotes
1. SAT scores are not the only student performance indicator. For more information, including state test scores (High School Proficiency Assessment results) for each high school, please visit NJ Department of Education.

2. *Calculation used to determine an average tax amount: average assessed home value of $250,000 x general tax rate x ratio. Data from State of NJ Treasury.

3. SAT scores are based on a total score of 600-2400. The SAT test consists of three categories: math, verbal and essay with a possible score of 600 points for each category to give a possible total score of 2400.

4. The high school with the highest total SAT score for each town was used in the graph. In some cases, the highest score is a vocational school.

New Jersey Education Budget Slashed

Many New Jersey school districts are looking at deep budget cuts anywhere from 40 to 100 percent. Governor Chris Christie’s proposed state budget has reduced aid to all of the nearly 600 school districts within New Jersey. Some districts were affected significantly more than others. Check out the list of towns that fared the best and those that took the biggest hit:

Hudson County
Least Affected:
• West New York Town reduced by 4.1%
• Union City reduced by 4.7%
• Jersey City reduced by 4.9%
• East Newark Boro reduced by 6.9%
• Harrison Town reduced by 7.2%

Taking the Biggest Hit:
• Secaucus Town cut 100%
• Weehawnen TWP cut 26.9%
• Guttenberg Town cut 14.1%
• Hoboken City cut 14.0%
• Kearny Town cut 12.9%

Essex County

Least Affected:
• City of Orange TWP reduced by 5.1%
• East Orange reduced by 5.1%
• Newark City reduced by 5.4%
• Irvington TWP reduced by 5.8%
• Essex Co Voc-Tech reduced by 9.5%

Taking the Biggest Hit:

• Caldwell-West Caldwell cut 100%
• Essex Fells Boro cut 100%
• Glen Ridge Boro cut 100%
• Livingston TWP cut 100%
• Milburn TWP cut 100%
• North Caldwell Boro cut 100%
  

Union County

Least Affected:
• Elizabeth City reduced by 4.2%
• Plainfield City reduced by 4.6%
• Winfield TWP reduced by 9.4%
• Hillside TWP reduced by 10.8%
• Roselle Boro reduced by 10.4%

Taking the Biggest Hit

• Berkeley Heights TWP cut 100%
• Clark TWP cut 100%
• New Providence Boro cut 100%
• Springfield TWP cut 100%
• Summit City cut 100%

Morris County

Least Affected:
• Dover Town reduced by 8.6%
• Wharton Boro reduced by 9.0%
• Jefferson TWP reduced by 15.9%
• Mine Hill TWP reduced by 16.5%
• Netcong Boro reduced by 18.0%

Taking the Biggest Hit:

• Hanover Park Regional cut 100%
• Harding TWP cut 100%
• Madison Boro cut 100%
• Mendham Boro cut 100%
• Mountain Lakes Boro cut 100%

The recent New Jersey budget cuts has generated a tremendous amount of media coverage, interest, comments as well as concern… Education funding is something that affects everyone in the community and can be a deciding factor in where people choose to live. What is your opinion? We’d like to know. Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Send me an email or call me immediately at 201-988-1393 for a personal and confidential conversation. Whether your considering buying or selling, we can help.

To see the full school list by county, please visit NJ.com.

The Union County Real Estate Tax vs School Performance Mashup

If you’re moving to Union County for the first time and wondering which city is right for you, there is more to consider besides home values especially if you have a family and need to choose a school. After you explore the local resources, culture and transportation options available in the different areas of Union County, knowing each city’s property tax rate versus local school performance can be the deciding factor in your decision. It may come as a surprise to know that the city with the highest property tax does not always have the high school with the highest SAT score.

Above Average

(see below for the formula we used to calculate the tax amount)

• Summit – Tax: $3699 SAT: 1735
• Berkeley Heights – Tax: $4247 SAT: 1717
• Westfield – Tax: $4302 SAT: 1740
• New Providence – Tax: $4866 SAT: 1757
• Cranford – Tax: $4730 SAT: 1599

What Our Research Shows

As you can see from the graph above, the results are quite surprising. The towns with the lowest property tax have public high schools with the highest SAT scores such as Summit, Berkeley Heights and Westfield. On the other side of the spectrum, Roselle Boro has the highest property tax estimated at $7,722 with the local high school, Abraham Clark High, having one of the lowest SAT scores at 1172. Hillside also came in upside down with an approximate property tax of $6890 and a SAT score from Hillside High of 1202.

2010 Union County Education Budget Cuts

How is your town going to be affected by the cuts to Education? Take a look below at each town in alphabetical order:

District Change in Aid
• Berkeley Heights TWP -100.0%
• Clark TWP  -100.0%
• Cranford TWP  -77.5%
• Elizabeth City  -04.2%
• Garwood Boro  -64.1%
• Hillside TWP  -10.8%
• Kenilworth Boro  -26.3%
• Linden City  -17.6%
• Mountainside Boro  -92.6%
• New Providence Boro  -100.0%
• Plainfield City  -04.6%
• Rayway City  -12.3%
• Roselle Boro  -10.4%
• Roselle Park Boro  -13.2%
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood Reg  -84.4%
• Springfield TWP  -100.0%
• Summit City  -100.0%
• Union County Voc  -16.6%
• Union TWP  -18.7%
• Westfield Town  -90.4%
• Winfield TWP  -09.4%

(more news on the NJ Education Budget Cuts)

What do you take away from this information?
Obviously there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage, interest, comments as well as concern on this subject… What is your opinion? We’d like to know. Please share your thoughts and comments below. This is your opportunity to be your town’s local spokesperson!

To search for available properties in these cities, please visit our Union County Property Search page.

Send me an email or call me immediately at 201-988-1393 for a personal and confidential conversation. Whether your considering buying or selling, we can help.

Footnotes
1. SAT scores are not the only student performance indicator. For more information, including state test scores (High School Proficiency Assessment results) for each high school, please visit NJ Department of Education.

2. *Calculation used to determine an average tax amount: average assessed home value of $250,000 x general tax rate x ratio. Data from State of NJ Treasury.

3. SAT scores are based on a total score of 600-2400. The SAT test consists of three categories: math, verbal and essay with a possible score of 600 points for each category to give a possible total score of 2400.

4. The high school with the highest total SAT score for each town was used in the graph. In some cases, the highest score is a vocational school.

The Morris County Real Estate Tax vs School Performance Mashup

What do you take away from this information?

Obviously there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage, interest, comments as well as concern on this subject… What is your opinion? We’d like to know. Please share your thoughts and comments below. This is your opportunity to be your town’s local spokesperson!

To search for available properties in these cities, please visit our Morris County Property Search page.

Send me an email or call me immediately at 201-988-1393 for a personal and confidential conversation. Whether your considering buying or selling, we can help.

Footnotes
1. SAT scores are not the only student performance indicator. For more information, including state test scores (High School Proficiency Assessment results) for each high school, please visit NJ Department of Education.

2. *Calculation used to determine an average tax amount: average assessed home value of $250,000 x general tax rate x ratio. Data from State of NJ Treasury.

3. SAT scores are based on a total score of 600-2400. The SAT test consists of three categories: math, verbal and essay with a possible score of 600 points for each category to give a possible total score of 2400.

4. The high school with the highest total SAT score for each town was used in the graph. In some cases, the highest score is a vocational school.



Hoboken’s Questionable Rent Control Ordinance

Investigation into Hoboken Rent Control and Property Values

The Liberty Board of Realtors has recently been investigating Hoboken’s rent control laws and their enforcement. This comes in part due to a recent court decision that has ruled this ordinance and its enforcement ‘unreasonable’ in this particular case. Although this case has been brought to the spotlight, it is evident that this might not be an isolated incident and problems may be more wide spread. The Liberty Board of Realtors believes that the Hoboken rent control ordinance as it is currently written could have a negative effect on property values and tenant rights.

Due to these concerns, Liberty Board of Realtors states, “the Board will be filing applications for grant monies from both NAR and NJAR to undertake an educational campaign for the citizens of Hoboken alerting them to our concerns. If granted, the Board will be able to undertake a multi-media educational campaign for at least 18 months.”

The Liberty Board of Realtors has offered their assistance to the Hoboken City Council in an effort to ensure that a revised Rent Control Ordinance will be fair for all property owners and their tenants. To read the Liberty Board of Realtors letter to the Hoboken City Council, please visit libertybrd.org.

To view the court’s decision and see full details of the case, please visit libertybrd.org.

Sean Shallis is #1 of 19,000 Weichert Realtors sales associates nationwide and is the leading expert in Hudson, Morris, Essex and Union Counties. Please call Sean Shallis directly at 201-427-1032 for a personal consultation.