What is price per square foot
for a New Jersey home?

Price per square foot is the sale price of a home divided by its livable square footage. It is a quick way to compare homes of different sizes. In South Jersey you will see it on listing sites and in reports of recent sales, and it is often the first number people use to size up a price.

It is a rough check, not a valuation. The figure leaves out condition, the lot, the layout and features like a garage, so two homes with the same price per square foot can be worth quite different amounts.

Say a buyer in Camden County is looking at two homes on the same street. One is 2,000 square feet and listed at $400,000, or $200 a square foot. The other is 1,600 square feet at $360,000, or $225 a square foot. The smaller home costs more per foot, and the difference may come from a newer kitchen, a bigger lot or a garage the other home lacks.

Wondering whether a price is in line with the neighborhood? Your agent can pull recent sales of similar homes nearby and explain why their prices differ. If you are financing, your lender orders an appraiser, who gives an independent opinion of the home's value.