MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair is well-known for having some steep local property taxes. But that high price tag also comes with a valuable perk, a new report says: owning property in one of the nation's hottest real estate markets.
The ZIP code of "07042" – which is centered on Montclair – ranked second-highest in the U.S. on the 2026 list of the "Hottest in America" from Realtor.com.
According to the study, a home in Montclair with a median listing price of $1.05 million will spend a median of only 18 days on the market: the lowest of any region that cracked the top 50.
Only Peabody, Massachusetts has a more active real estate market than the 07042 ZIP code, the latest report says. View the full list and learn about its methodology here.
Realtor.com noted that Montclair has been seeing many homes sell well-above their asking prices:
"Nationally, the typical home sold for about 2.3% below list price in the first half of 2026. In the 10 hottest ZIPs, nine of 10 saw homes sell at or above asking, with an average sale-to-list ratio of roughly 103.8%. Montclair, N.J. and Fairport, N.Y. stood out sharply, with homes selling 16.7% and 14.4% over asking, respectively — a sign of competitive conditions and possibly multiple-offer scenarios while much of the country returns to balanced or even buyer-favoring conditions."
"This year's hottest ZIP codes tell us that buyers aren't simply chasing the lowest price tag anymore – they're chasing space, character and a manageable commute to a major job center – and they're willing to pay a premium to get it," said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.
Case in point, several local hotspots in Montclair have made their own "best of" lists in the past few years.
Last year, Downtown Montclair landed on a national list of the "Best Outdoor Dining" neighborhoods in the nation. The town also has one of the "best movie theaters in the world" (Bellevue Theater) and is home to Publishers Weekly's 2026 Bookstore of the Year (Watchung Booksellers).
It doesn't hurt that many buyers shopping in Montclair have some deep pockets, researchers said:
"The average down payment across the list is 17.1%, compared with roughly 13.1% nationally, and the average median credit score is 766, versus about 747 nationally. Montclair, N.J. buyers posted the strongest profile in the sample, averaging a 22.1% down payment (more than $318,000) alongside a median FICO score of 783."
Realtor.com also included a caveat involving Montclair in their release about this year's list.
According to researchers, seven of the 10 "hottest ZIPs" show local median household income running ahead of what's needed to afford the typical home there, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 6.55 percent mortgage rate.
"Three ZIPs break from that pattern, most notably Montclair (07042), where income runs 31.1 percent behind what's needed – a signal less about whether today's buyers can afford these homes and more about how much home values have outpaced the earnings of long-tenured residents," researchers said.
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