The city of New Brunswick, situated on 5.8 square miles, just 27 miles southwest of Manhattan, is the county seat of Middlesex County and the home of Rutgers University. It is located in the Raritan Valley, on the Raritan River, which empties into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 15 miles away.
The City of New Brunswick has changed dramatically since the early 1980's. The population was 55,181 as of the 2010 US Census, which represents a growth rate of over 20% since the Census of 1990. Johnson & Johnson made huge investments in New Brunswick and Rutgers University continues to grow making New Brunswick a true "college town."
The downtown area has been revitalized with new businesses expanding the New Brunswick downtown business area. New Brunswick is a top destination location for many activities. Not only is it a hot spot for the central New Jersey population, its train station allows visitors from New York to Philadelphia easy and convenient access to all the city has to offer. There are numerous casual and fine dining restaurants in New Brunswick, as well as entertainment venues and historical and cultural locations of interest.
New Brunswick is known as "The Healthcare City" because of its concentration of medical facilities, including Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peter's University Hospital, and Rutgers University's Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The corporate headquarters and production facilities of several global pharmaceutical companies are also situated in the city, including Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
The residential real estate market in New Brunswick is mostly broken down into the following categories:
- Student housing
- Owner occupied single and multi-family homes
- Investment properties
Student housing has two segments. First, of course, are dorm rooms. However, many students choose to live just off campus, mostly in shared single-family or multi-family homes. The cost of housing for off campus is comparable to the cost of dorm rooms. The inventory of owner occupied single-family homes and multi-family homes have decreased over the years, especially near the Rutgers campuses and the hospital. When these homes come up for sale, most are purchased by investors who then convert them into investment properties, renting them out to students or medical personnel. Even during downturns in the real estate market, homes of interest to investors have fared better than the rest of the housing inventory. In particular, the demand for student housing continues to grow year after year.
Homes for sale in New Brunswick NJ can vary greatly in asking price and value based upon location, size, and potential rental income. The farther properties are from the campuses, hospitals, and train station, the lower are the home prices .
Photo: By Lacwal12 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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