The story of this market
The typical home in Mercer County, New Jersey sells for about $478,565, or $299 per square foot.
Prices are up +5.2% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 41 days to sell. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 156% since 2000. Last year 56 of 68 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. The biggest natural hazard here is strong wind, which FEMA rates relatively high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $2,242 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $2,242 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
+4.9%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2022 (+15.4%). Worst: 2009 (-6.6%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+5%
NJ · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$2,741
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
+4.9%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 68 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
65
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $176,201,883.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
72.4%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 13098 | 6547 | 72.4% | 10.3% | $225,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Mercer County, New Jersey
Mercer County's residential market remains tight with median home prices rising 5.2% year-over-year to $478,565 and properties closing at 100.3% of asking list price. Inventory has seen mild relief, bringing months of supply to 3.8, while days on market hold steady at 41 days. Sustained demand is anchored by transit-accessible commuter appeal to New York and Philadelphia alongside robust institutional employment.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 12 cities · 19 ZIP reports
Median prices moved down 1.7% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 61 days on market with 0.1 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
6% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 76.43% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 4.1% · poverty 10.9% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Owned and leased federal assets with active or excess status, per the General Services Administration's Real Estate Across the United States inventory (read 2026-09-25). A federal footprint read on this county — not a market valuation, and never an attribute of any individual property or tenant.
Deterministic aggregate of 19 researched ZIP reports — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Mercer County, New Jersey — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 6.5%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
Each property observation weighs one in its ZIP's deterministic roll-up — property-level records (taxes, scores, permits) never roll individually. Latest property research run Oct 13, 2026.
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Oct 1
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
| 08520 | East Windsor Township | $433,371 | $309 | +0.8% | 41 | 100.3% | 11% | 0.9 | 51 | $1,657 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08525 | Hopewell Borough | $600,000 | $419 | +12.1% | 36 | 94% | 11% | 0.9 | 25 | $1,835 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08534 | Hopewell Township | $644,500 | $265 | — | 50 | — | 22.7% | — | 4,747 | $2,004 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08540 | Princeton | $1,100,000 | $578 | -20% | 42 | — | — | — | 9 | $2,218 | researched Oct 1 |
| 08550 | West Windsor Township | $841,996 | $435 | -1% | 26 | — | — | — | 147 | $2,584 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08560 | Hopewell Township | $750,000 | $325 | +1.2% | 45 | 98.5% | 12% | 6.2 | 59 | $2,147 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08608 | Trenton | $200,500 | $150 | -1.8% | 17 | — | — | — | — | $996 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08609 | Trenton | $255,000 | $286 | -0.5% | 37 | 100% | 11% | 4.6 | 698 | $1,391 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08610 | Hamilton Township | $350,000 | $286 | +0.3% | 37 | 100.3% | 11% | 4.6 | 698 | $1,578 | researched Sep 26 |
| 08611 | Trenton | $290,000 | $192 | -1.8% | 54 | 98.5% | — | 2 | 43 | $1,459 | researched Sep 26 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Crime rates vary widely across Mercer County, with suburban municipalities like Princeton, West Windsor, and Hopewell exhibiting violent and property crime rates well below national averages, whereas urban Trenton records elevated crime indexes.
Public school quality is bifurcated; top-tier suburban districts including Princeton Public Schools and West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional boast top state and national academic rankings, while the Trenton Public School District faces persistent achievement and funding challenges.
Mercer County features moderate flood risk concentrated along the Delaware River, Assunpink Creek, and Stony Brook basins, alongside major wind risk from regional tropical storms and nor'easters, driving elevation requirements and flood insurance scrutiny.
Economic expansion is anchored by Princeton University, state governmental operations in Trenton, and life science and biotech campuses along the Route 1 corridor, supported by sustained mixed-use redevelopment and research infrastructure investments.
Composed from the ARED governance burden registry — tier-native tax structure (state + county + city + special districts), never averaged. Federal (United States (federal)) — Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Superfund Liens: Establishes a statutory federal lien upon the parcel running in favor of the United States for all unrecovered cleanup costs, damages, and statutory interest incurred by the EPA. Rate and formula: Direct Dollar-for-Dollar Reimbursement (Lien Amount = Incurred Response Costs + Administrative Costs + Federal (United States (federal)) — Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) Withholding: Imposes an affirmative withholding tax obligation on the transferee (buyer) to withhold and remit tax on the gross amount realized (gross sales price). The statutory base withholding rate is 15% of the total purchase price (Formula: Tax = Amount Realized × 15%). Exemptions and reductions: (1) 0% wit Federal (United States (federal)) — Federal General Tax Lien Encumbrance: Under IRC § 6321, a statutory lien arises automatically as of the date of assessment and attaches to all real property owned or acquired by the taxpayer.
Mercer County hosts a resilient, knowledge-intensive economy driven by higher education (Princeton University, The College of New Jersey), pharmaceutical and life sciences research along Route 1, healthcare networks, and State of New Jersey executive governance.
The county is served by the Northeast Corridor rail line (NJ Transit and Amtrak stations at Trenton and Princeton Junction), the River LINE light rail, Interstate 295, Interstate 195, and U.S. Route 1, providing direct connectivity to Philadelphia and New York City.
Municipal master plans emphasize transit-oriented development around Northeast Corridor stations, preservation of open space in northern townships, and adaptive reuse of historic industrial parcels in Trenton and Hamilton.
Assessment administration in New Jersey is handled at the municipal tax assessor level rather than through a consolidated county appraisal district, governed by the Mercer County Board of Taxation under state equalization ratios.
Parcels are subject to municipal, county, and local or regional school district taxation, with certain areas participating in local improvement districts, business improvement districts, and fire districts.
Homeowners insurance premiums have been rising moderately due to increased water intrusion and flood exposures along Delaware River tributaries, as well as coastal storm wind risks impacting central New Jersey.
- Six Flags Great Adventure4.419.5 mi
- Sesame Place Philadelphia4.110.9 mi
- Supercharged Entertainment4.824.3 mi
- Six Flags Hurricane Harbor418.9 mi
- The Funplex4.324.6 mi
- Six Flags Great Adventure4.419.5 mi
- Peddler's Village4.716.1 mi
- Topgolf Edison4.324.4 mi
- Supercharged Entertainment4.824.3 mi
- Holland Ridge Farms4.515.3 mi
- BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham4.88.8 mi
- Six Flags Great Adventure4.419.5 mi
- Parx Casino4.117.2 mi
- Sesame Place Philadelphia4.110.9 mi
- Peddler's Village4.716.1 mi
- BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham4.88.8 mi
- Peddler's Village4.716.1 mi
- Grounds For Sculpture4.84.6 mi
- Otherworld Philadelphia4.521.9 mi
- Fonthill Castle4.820.5 mi
- Grounds For Sculpture4.84.6 mi
- Mercer County Park4.76.1 mi
- Duke Farms4.817.7 mi
- Colonial Park4.717 mi
- Tyler State Park4.813.7 mi
- Topgolf Philadelphia4.119.5 mi
- Neshanic Valley Golf Course4.515.5 mi
- Forsgate Country Club4.414.6 mi
- Mercer Oaks Golf Course4.44.7 mi
- Heron Glen Golf Course4.613.1 mi
- Peddler's Village4.716.1 mi
- Quaker Bridge Mall4.32.8 mi
- Franklin Mall4.219.1 mi
- Jackson Premium Outlets4.419.3 mi
- Columbus Farmers Market4.517.2 mi
- Trenton-Mercer Airport3.94.8 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area from Google Maps, ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
Spans over 2,500 acres across West Windsor and Hamilton, featuring Lake Mercer, the Caspersen Rowing Center, and extensive sports complexes.
A 42-acre sculpture park and contemporary arts museum in Hamilton Township showcasing hundreds of monumental works.
Renowned historic campus grounds, botanical gardens, and expanding world-class encyclopedic fine art museum in Princeton.
Linear recreational park and towpath trail stretching across Mercer County along the Delaware River and historic canal.
Data retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates profile for Mercer County, NJ.
applies when — Land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use meeting specific acreage and income requirements
Property is assessed based on its productive capability for agricultural use rather than its full market value, resulting in a lower tax burden.
N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.
New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state, requiring lenders to file a lawsuit in Superior Court. Lenders must provide a Notice of Intention to Foreclose at least 30 days prior to commencing the action.
N.J.S.A. 2A:50-53 et seq.; NJ Courts Foreclosure procedures.
Sellers must provide a specific flood risk addendum to buyers as part of the property disclosure process.
Effective August 1, 2024, per New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs regulations.
Sellers are required to provide a standardized disclosure statement regarding the physical condition of the property to prospective buyers.
Effective August 26, 2026, per New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs regulations.
Tax is calculated as (Assessed Value * Tax Rate). Assessed value is determined by the municipal assessor at 100% of true market value. The tax rate is set by local taxing districts to cover municipal, county, and school budgets.
N.J.S.A. 54:4-1 et seq.; Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution.
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.