Morris County's $75,000 jump.

One number captures May 2026 in Morris County: $850,000. That's the new median single-family sale price — a $75,000 leap from April's $775,000, and an 11.1% gain year-over-year. We've been writing these monthly reports for a year, and we've never seen a one-month price jump this large in our footprint. Inventory grew modestly. Days on market held steady at 24. Homes still sold at 106.9% of list. The market did not soften. It accelerated.

The numbers below come from the latest New Jersey REALTORS® Local Market Update, current as of June 9, 2026. Morris County includes our home markets of Butler and Kinnelon plus 37 surrounding municipalities — and we've broken down the eight specific towns we serve (Butler, Kinnelon, Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes, Riverdale, Wanaque, Wayne, West Milford, Pequannock) further down so you can see which neighborhoods are running hottest.

The headline numbers

What the numbers actually mean

Here's the story underneath the surface: Morris County now has 644 single-family homes for sale — up 3% from a year ago. That's the loosest inventory we've seen in over two years. And yet prices kept climbing — hard.

The $75K month-over-month jump from $775K to $850K is partly mix-shift (more high-end Kinnelon and Wayne sales closed in May), but it's overwhelmingly demand. Closed sales were up 1.3% YoY at 305 transactions. New listings up 9.5%. Months of supply held at 2.1 — well below the six-month threshold that defines a balanced market.

In plain English: every additional listing that came on the market in May got absorbed, plus a little more. Sellers found buyers willing to push prices into uncomfortable territory. We saw this most violently in Kinnelon, where the median sale hit $987,000 — a 23.4% YoY jump. The Smoke Rise effect is real, and the upper-bracket buyer pool refuses to thin out.

Town-by-town: where the action is

Here's the May 2026 single-family breakdown for the eight towns our Butler/Kinnelon office serves most directly:

*Riverdale's apparent decline reflects a tiny sample (4 closed sales in May 2026 vs. 2 in May 2025). Pricing is volatile in micro-markets — year-to-date Riverdale sales are actually up 33.6% in median price.

A few patterns jump out:

• Butler is the speed leader. Just 14 days on market and an eye-popping 111.5% of list price received. If you list a Butler home priced right, you have multiple offers by the weekend.
• Kinnelon is the price leader. $987K median means half of all Kinnelon homes that closed in May went for nearly a million dollars or more. Smoke Rise and the larger acreage parcels are pulling the market up.
• Pequannock had the strongest "over-asking" performance. 108.6% of list price received — sellers there left almost no money on the table.
• West Milford is rebounding fast. Up 15.9% YoY on price, with inventory growing 36.5%. The lake-area market is heating up just as summer arrives.
• Bloomingdale and Riverdale showed declines in May, but both are noisy due to small sale volume. We'd watch June before drawing conclusions.

What it means for buyers

The good news: there are more homes to look at than there have been in years. Morris County single-family inventory grew to 644 listings, up 3% YoY. Across our eight focus towns, you have 230+ active homes to consider — that's the most we've had since spring 2022.

The hard news: prices are accelerating, not softening. Median up 11.1% YoY. In Kinnelon, you're now competing in a near-million-dollar market. In Butler, well-priced homes are leaving for 111% of list in 14 days. The extra inventory hasn't translated into bargaining leverage — it's translated into bigger buyer pools chasing each property.

What works right now:

• Get fully pre-approved — and stress-test your numbers up. The home you can afford at March's prices is no longer the same home in June. Re-run your numbers and pre-approval at the new comparable values.
• Look at homes priced 5–10% below your max budget. With prices climbing this fast, expect 3–7% over-ask offers on quality properties. Build in the headroom.
• Watch Pequannock, Wanaque, and West Milford for value plays. All three offer commuter-friendly access with median prices well below Kinnelon and Wayne. Inventory is also more available in these towns.
• Move within 72 hours of a new listing going active. Butler's 14-day DOM is your warning — buyers who wait until the weekend to tour are losing.

What it means for sellers

This is the strongest sellers' market we've seen since 2022. Median up 11.1%, homes selling at 106.9% of list across the county, 2.1 months of supply, and a median DOM of 24 days. If you've been waiting for the perfect window to list — this is it.

But "strongest market in two years" doesn't mean every house sells itself. The data shows clear winners and clear laggards. Here's what's working right now:

• Price aggressive on day one. The data is unambiguous: homes priced strategically below comp are converting to over-asking sales with multiple offers. Homes priced at the absolute top of comp tend to sit, then drop, then sell for less.
• Professional photography is non-negotiable. With more inventory competing for attention, your first impression online decides whether buyers tour at all.
• If you're in Kinnelon or Wayne, consider listing now. The luxury and upper-mid market is on fire. Waiting for fall risks catching the September inventory wave that typically softens pricing.
• If you're in Bloomingdale or Riverdale, be more strategic about pricing. Both towns showed softer May data. Price slightly below the obvious comp to trigger competition rather than starting at the top and discounting.
• Get a real home valuation before you decide. The single biggest seller mistake right now is using a Zillow Zestimate (which lags 60–90 days) to set expectations. Local data is the only data that matters.

The Morris County data table

Source: New Jersey REALTORS®, Local Market Update for May 2026, Morris County. Townhouse-condo segment showed median of $481,250 (down 6.3% YoY) with inventory up 30.3%. Adult community segment small but stable.

The bottom line

May 2026 was the strongest pricing month we've recorded in Morris County in over two years. Inventory loosened modestly. Buyer demand absorbed all of it and then some. The seller's market didn't soften — it accelerated. For buyers, this means more options but harder math. For sellers, this is the moment when patience finally pays off. We're nine months from a 2027 spring market that nobody can yet predict — if you're planning to sell, listing now puts you ahead of that uncertainty.

$75,000 in 30 days. That's how much Morris County's median sale price moved from April to May. The seller's market didn't loosen — it sprinted.