21. Reasons Not to Buy Here

A report that only makes the case for a town is a brochure. Section 20 gave the reasons people buy in Paramus. These are the six trade-offs that come with them, and who each one matters to.

1. There is no train. A rail commuter drives to another town and pays its non-resident parking price, where a permit is available at all (Section 16). This matters most if you commute to Manhattan every day. It matters little if you drive to work or work from home.

2. Sunday is closed, and the other six days are busy. Borough Code Chapter 391 keeps most stores shut on Sunday. Many residents count that as a reason to live here. The rest of the week, Route 17 carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day and peaks at midday Saturday (Section 12). Drive from the house to the highway at noon on a Saturday before you offer.

3. The house next door can be replaced by one twice the size. The same rule that lets you build lets your neighbor build (Section 14). On a block of 75-foot lots, expect construction within sight during a five-year stay. It also means the new houses become the comparable sales for yours.

4. Under $1 million, you compete with builders. About one in six houses sold under $1 million from 2021 through 2024 has since been torn down. Those buyers pay over asking and move fast (Section 2). This matters to a first-time buyer; for a seller of an original house it is an advantage.

5. About 2,100 homes are coming, most of them on the highways. They are mainly rental apartments at the malls and by the hospital (Section 13). Almost none is inside a single-family neighborhood, but it means more traffic from 2028 on.

6. At $2 million and up, plan to stay. That tier has 5.1 months of supply and sells at a median 97.5% of asking (Sections 3 and 5). If you may need to sell within a few years, you will be selling against newer houses.

What I tell my buyers: I live here, and none of these six has made me want to leave. If the train is the thing you cannot give up, Paramus is the wrong town and I will help you look in one that has it. If it is not, you are trading a train station for the lowest tax rate in the area, and most of my buyers take that trade.