Will Bergen County, NJ House Rental Market Remain Strong in 2020?

Just like the real estate sales market in Bergen County, New Jersey, the house rental market has also seen increases. With very little housing inventory available (especially in first time home buyer ranges under $500,000), some buyers are giving up and renting instead. This is good news for landlords in Bergen County. You need to have a real estate agent who is on top of market trends and ensuring you are receiving full market rent for your investment property. I ran the stats on the New Jersey MLS (the default MLS for Bergen County) for the past 4 years and this is what I came up through my research.

• From 2016 to 2019, the average and median home rental price has increased by 8%.
• Days on the market has remained very steady, with the average house rental sitting in the 45 to 51 day range.
• The total amount of house rentals available year to year has also been consistent with a range of 1,409 (2018) to 1,478 available (2016). In 2019, there were 1,470 house rental listings.

The days on the market is an important stat for landlords, as it helps indicate when you should list your house rental to ensure you decrease the vacancy rate in between tenants. When creating your lease, you should build into a clause that allows you to list and show the house (with reasonable notice and hours) during a specified period of time at the end of the lease. Based on these stats, I recommend 45 days prior to the end of the lease.

Another interesting stat I came across is what a difference in rent price having a 3 bedroom house rental vs a 4 bedroom house rental.

In 2019, the average 3 bedroom house rental was $3,008 vs $3,737 for a 4 bedroom house rental. When shopping for a new investment property, definitely worth it to spend a little more on the 4 bedroom home vs the 3 bedroom home or figure out a way to add a 4th bedroom. This type of value add might be as simple as dividing a large bedroom into 2 or converting an enclosed porch into living area.

With even less housing inventory to choose from predicted for 2020, house rentals will still be in demand and should lead to another increase in house rental prices for Bergen County, New Jersey.