It is now on the market to rent and because of the Corona Virus situation I have experienced a ton of tire kickers who are sick of the quarantine and just think that they want to live in a more spacious environment and away from crowds, and who in most cases cannot afford my house.

As long as you can afford the payments and have stable income and employment, owning your own home is generally preferred to renting and paying off your landlord's mortgage. 

I'd like to learn more about that market as it seems to be more affordable than surrounding towns to the east.

Currently with what i was approved I can only afford a condo.

Right now I am saving up and trying to get pre-approved so I know how much I can afford. 

Your statements about price, supply, and days on market are very much in line for what I am seeing for "affordable" single family homes in B class or higher suburbs (about $250k or less).   

Our advantage was that we are super frugal when it comes to spending, so it didn't matter that we didn't make a lot, we could afford the payments on a house. 

How many units could you afford with that level of negative cash flow?

Consider this NYC real estate just got moving again, several NYC buyers looking to make a move still haven't sold their homes yet also several people that were considering buying or investing still haven't gone back to work and when they do we'll see things get a bit tighter as many potential sellers aren't interested in selling because they cant find/afford a new place to reside or invest in.Housing inventory in Northern NJ has been limited for the past few years, I don't know that that changes anytime soon

For instance: the restaurant industry workers can not afford to live in orange beach.