Nutley Housing Market Is ‘Booming,’ Home Values Soar: Officials

NUTLEY, NJ — When it comes to paying taxes, there’s a big question that homeowners need to ask themselves, Nutley officials say: “Is the attractiveness of the town growing faster than the property taxes?”

And according to Thomas Evans, commissioner of the Nutley Department of Revenue and Finance, the answer is simple … absolutely.

In December, Nutley town officials issued a news release that claims the local housing market is “booming.”

“Over the past year, the Township of Nutley has seen a record-breaking uptick in home values,” officials wrote. “According to online realty services, the valuation of homes in the township has risen anywhere from 10 to 18 percent since [November 2020].”

There’s more good news, Evans said.

“Based on our calculations, the average residential home value has gone up by just over 11 percent,” Evans reported. “We always ask ourselves, ‘Is Nutley a more attractive place to live than the year before?’ I think the increase in home values shows that the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’”

Mayor Mauro Tucci said he isn’t surprised by those statistics. “Who wouldn’t want to live in Nutley?” he asked.

According to Tucci, the town has seen a “tremendous” rise in the demand for homes this past year.

“I think with more people working remotely, they’re looking for a long-term place to call home that gives them access to Manhattan, but also the comfort and idyllic setting like we have here,” Tucci theorized.

Some Nutley residents have bemoaned recent tax hikes; local homeowners saw a 4.77 percent increase to their combined local, county and school taxes for 2021, Tap Into reported. Read More: Here's The 'Average' Property Tax Bill In Belleville, Nutley

But Evans argued that residents need to look at the tax issue “in totality” – and that includes the question of whether they’re getting the best bang for their buck.

“No one likes to raise taxes,” Evans said. “But we try very hard to keep our residents aware of what goes into that equation.”

According to Evans, Nutley’s taxes are broken up into four different categories: Board of Education (49%), Municipality (35%), Essex County (15%) and County Open Space (1%).

Mike Moscara of Moscara Realty concurred with Evans’ analysis of the tax situation in town.

“Honestly, in our 40 years of selling homes in Nutley, I have never seen such a lack of inventory due to demand,” Moscara said.

“In the last year, we’ve seen homes selling for 10, 15, sometimes even 20 percent over asking price,” Moscara continued. “People leave places like Jersey City and Hoboken and come to Nutley and see a small-town community with an old-time feel. It is a very desirable place to live.”

Mary and Michael Ryder of the Rubino Ryder Team at KW NJ Metro Group shared similar sentiments.

“Over the past year, we've experienced an increase of 13.7 percent,” Mary Ryder said. “The strong demand of homebuyers, coupled with lower inventory, has brought on these large gains by creating an unprecedented bidding war for nearly every property over these past two years.”

• See related article: Latest Belleville-Nutley Housing Market Info (Update)
• See related article: Nutley Home Selling For $1.25M: 'Location Meets Luxury'
• See related article: Nutley Apartment Building Refinanced For $31.5 Million

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page.