Anthony Licciardello | April 23, 2026
About two square miles on the northern bank of the Navesink. A shared regional high school. A median sale price that portal data puts somewhere between $1.4 million and $1.7 million, and active inventory that sits around ten listings or fewer. Fair Haven doesn't behave like the rest of Monmouth County — and buyers priced out of Rumson or upper Red Bank keep landing here faster than the borough adds housing to absorb them.
Fair Haven is a borough of about 2.1 square miles and just above 6,000 people that prices like one of New Jersey's premium markets. Portal data puts the median sale price in a $1.4 million to $1.7 million band (Indicative), price per square foot at $600 to $666 (Directional) and median days on market at 16 to 33 (Indicative). Supply is the story: active listings have hovered around ten or fewer through 2026. It is really three markets — a $780K–$1.1M entry tier, a $1.1M–$1.7M mid tier where most of the volume moves, and a $2M–$3M+ luxury and new-build tier — and builders turning older Capes into new Shore Colonials keep thinning the bottom. The effective tax rate of about 1.47% sits well under the state median, but the median bill is still about $14,808, and Monmouth's appeal deadline is January 15. With no station of its own, the commute runs through Red Bank — and Red Bank's redevelopment halo lifts Fair Haven values with it.
The Fair Haven market in 2026 doesn't behave like the rest of Monmouth County. About two square miles in all, roughly 1.6 of it land. Roughly 6,000 residents. A shared high school district that puts it at one of the state's premium price points. A median sale price that portal data puts somewhere between $1.4 million and $1.7 million, with listings routinely asking $1.5 million and up.* Homes move in under three weeks on average, and active inventory sits around ten listings or fewer.
There's no train station of its own, and no downtown the way Red Bank does. But the ZIP is 07704, and the regional market reads it as part of the Rumson peninsula. Buyers priced out of Rumson or upper Red Bank land here, and the borough almost never adds housing fast enough to absorb them. Here is the 2026 snapshot: sales, prices, taxes, the commute, and what to watch through the rest of the year.
Fair Haven sits on the northern bank of the Navesink River in eastern Monmouth County, between Rumson to the east and Red Bank to the west. It's roughly 25 miles from lower Manhattan across the water, closer to 50 by car. The borough covers about 2.1 square miles, roughly 1.6 of it land, and holds a population just above 6,000 (6,269 at the 2020 Census). That's smaller than most Staten Island neighborhoods and a fraction of Middletown's footprint.
The schools are the economic engine. Fair Haven's own district runs two buildings, and from there students move on to a regional high school consistently ranked among the top public high schools in New Jersey.
Fair Haven district.
Fair Haven district.
Shared with Rumson; consistently ranked among the top public high schools in New Jersey.
Daily life is small-scale and outdoors. Kids bike to school. Weekend soccer happens at Fair Haven Fields, and the roughly 40-acre Natural Area next to the athletic fields has trails through dense woods. The municipal ramp on the Navesink gives residents water access for kayaking, fishing and crabbing. The walkable River Road strip carries the Fair Haven Diner, Nicholas Creamery and a mix of small boutiques and service businesses. Red Bank is five minutes away.
Start with the raw data. Median sale prices across recent reporting periods fall in a band of roughly $1.4 million to $1.7 million, depending on the platform and the window it measures. Asking prices have pushed past $1.5 million, and price per square foot runs in a $600 to $666 band depending on condition and water access. Median days on market has run between 16 and 33 days, which is unusually tight for a seven-figure market and well under the roughly two months buyers see in national portal data. Fair Haven doesn't sit in the national pattern.
Supply is the story. Active listings across every price point have hovered around ten or fewer through 2026. With roughly 2,000 households in about two square miles, fewer than a dozen homes trade hands in a typical month. Well-priced listings between $1 million and $1.4 million routinely draw multiple offers on the first weekend.
Fair Haven is still a seller's market at the entry and mid-tiers. The active-to-sold ratio stays tight, and well-presented homes get bid. Above $2.5 million the market slows, and days on market can stretch past 60.
Market figures in this report are published as bands with a confidence grade, never as single point estimates. Grades: Anchored (official or closed-sale records), Corroborated (three or more independent sources agree), Indicative (two or more independent sources point the same way but differ in period or method), Directional (one source or a thin sample), Insufficient (not enough data to publish).
Corroborated across Redfin closed sales (July–September 2026), Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Century 21 community market pages, and ATTOM Property Navigator. Sources differ by measurement window, and Fair Haven's monthly sample is small (often under a dozen sales), so a few waterfront or new-build closings can move the median sharply.
Redfin city-level data; condition and water access drive wide variation.
Redfin monthly and rolling three-month figures plus MLS-sourced portal listings.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Trulia listing counts.
Buyers tend to treat Fair Haven as one seven-figure bucket. It isn't. It's three distinct markets, each with its own supply, its own buyer pool and its own pricing logic.
Older Cape Cods and colonials, typically 1940s–1970s construction, 3–4 bedrooms, 1,400–1,900 sq ft. Original systems, often candidates for renovation or eventual teardown.
Renovated colonials and New Traditionals, 4–5 bedrooms, updated kitchens and baths, 2,200–3,000 sq ft. The deepest buyer pool in the borough — this is where most of the volume moves.
New construction Shore Colonials, waterfront Navesink parcels, custom builds on larger lots. 5+ bedrooms, 3,200+ sq ft above grade, often with finished basements and nanny suites. Listings occasionally push past $5M on true waterfront.
The pressure point to watch in 2026 is the line between the entry tier and the luxury tier. Builders buy older Capes and ranches in the $780K to $950K range, take them down, and deliver new Shore Colonials at $2 million to $3 million.
A $1 million teardown becomes a $2.5 million new build, and the borough's overall median drifts up even when the broader market flattens. Every teardown removes one more entry-tier home from the pool for good while adding another seven-figure build.
Fair Haven's median effective property tax rate runs about 1.47%, well under the New Jersey median of roughly 2.88%. High values still produce a real bill: the median annual property tax is about $14,808, the 75th percentile reaches roughly $19,955, and the top decile runs north of $27,000.
Source: Monmouth County Board of Taxation, municipal tax collector filings, Ownwell Fair Haven data and the NJ Division of Taxation. Approximate rates.
Bar widths scaled to $27,000; the top decile runs north of that figure. Source: Monmouth County Board of Taxation, municipal tax collector filings, Ownwell Fair Haven data and the NJ Division of Taxation.
Monmouth County reassesses every year under its Assessment Demonstration Program, and that changes the calendar. The appeal deadline here is January 15, not April 1. Monmouth shares that January 15 deadline with Burlington and Gloucester counties. Values are set as of October 1 of the pre-tax year, so a 2026 bill reflects the market as of October 1, 2025.
The February and May installments are preliminary: they're based on the prior year's taxes because the new rate hasn't been certified yet. The August and November installments reflect the certified rate for the year, and they're often higher to make up the difference. Don't multiply your February bill by four and call it your annual tax.
Sellers above $1 million should also budget for the Graduated Percent Fee, which replaced the buyer-paid Mansion Tax on July 10, 2025 and now falls on the seller. The full breakdown is in our guide to NJ closing costs in 2026.
Fair Haven has no station, so the commute runs through Red Bank. Red Bank Station sits on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, with direct weekday peak service to New York Penn Station. Plan on roughly 75 to 95 minutes on the train, with express runs at the faster end, plus the drive to the station.
Most of the borough sits within a 5–10 minute drive of the platform, and some eastern-edge neighborhoods can walk it in under 30 minutes. Parking fills early: permit holders get priority, and daily lots are typically full by 7:30 AM in peak season.
High-speed ferries to Midtown and Wall Street.
Resumed weekday service to Downtown Manhattan in September 2026.
For people who work in Lower Manhattan, the ferry often beats the train even after the drive to the terminal.
Red Bank is in its most significant redevelopment push in decades: the Denholtz train station district, Saxum's waterfront projects, and an expanding dining and nightlife corridor. That halo lifts Fair Haven values, and buyers increasingly treat the two towns as one market with Red Bank as the downtown. Fair Haven doesn't need its own restaurant row. Red Bank already has one of the best restaurant densities in the state, and Fair Haven residents have 30+ serious dining options inside a ten-minute drive.
Price it for the tier you're actually in.
Fair Haven is three markets, not one seven-figure bucket — an entry tier of older Capes and colonials, a mid tier where most of the volume moves, and a luxury and new-build tier where days on market can stretch past 60 above $2.5 million. With a monthly sample often under a dozen sales, a few waterfront or new-build closings can move the median sharply, so a single borough figure describes almost no individual house. Dual-licensed in New York and New Jersey.
NYC buyer pressure. It isn't fading. Monmouth absorbed a large share of post-2020 movers and ranks at or near the top of the county-by-county pattern of NYC buyer relocation quarter after quarter. With supply this tight, there's no realistic scenario where that demand eases.
The teardown pipeline. It's accelerating. When a builder can turn a Fair Haven lot into a $2M–$3M new build, buyers hunting older homes at $850K to $1M are competing with builders. Expect the bottom of the inventory to keep thinning.
NJDEP adopted its REAL (Resilient Environments and Landscapes) rules on January 20, 2026. New construction in tidal flood zones must sit at least four feet above the FEMA base flood elevation.
The original legacy window for projects designed to the old standards closed July 20, 2026; NJDEP has proposed extending it to July 20, 2027 and is weighing targeted amendments, so confirm the current status before you price a waterfront teardown. Either way, waterfront teardown math now carries higher construction costs, longer permitting and more insurance exposure than older projections assumed.
Monmouth development. The Fort Monmouth redevelopment, the Netflix studio at the former base, and the county's mixed-use projects won't build anything in Fair Haven. They raise Monmouth's overall value floor anyway, and that lifts towns that aren't building at all. Here is every major development project transforming Monmouth.
Fair Haven is still a seller's market at the entry and mid-tiers, with supply this tight and the teardown pipeline thinning the bottom of the inventory. But the tier, the tax calendar and the flood rules each change the math for a specific property.
Well-presented homes get bid, and well-priced listings between $1 million and $1.4 million routinely draw multiple offers on the first weekend.
Days on market can stretch past 60 at that level — a different negotiation than the one at the entry and mid-tiers.
Builders buy older Capes and ranches in the $780K to $950K range to deliver new Shore Colonials at $2 million to $3 million.
Four feet above base flood elevation, a legacy window NJDEP has proposed extending, and higher construction, permitting and insurance costs all sit inside that number.
The February and May bills are preliminary; the August and November installments reflect the certified rate and are often higher.
It replaced the buyer-paid Mansion Tax on July 10, 2025 and now falls on the seller.
Put January 15 on the calendar, not April 1. Monmouth County reassesses every year under its Assessment Demonstration Program, so the appeal deadline here is January 15 — a date Monmouth shares with Burlington and Gloucester counties. Values are set as of October 1 of the pre-tax year, so a 2026 bill reflects the market as of October 1, 2025. And when the first bill of the year arrives, remember that the February and May installments are preliminary, based on the prior year's taxes. The August and November installments carry the certified rate and are often higher to make up the difference. Don't multiply your February bill by four and call it your annual tax.
"The supply of entry-tier Fair Haven homes is shrinking every quarter, and every teardown removes one more from the pool for good while adding another seven-figure build. Fair Haven is three markets, not one — price it for the tier you're actually in."
— Anthony Licciardello, Broker, The Prodigy Team
Reading a municipal resolution and knowing what it means for the house across the street is what years inside local government teach you: I'm Anthony Licciardello, Broker of The Prodigy Team, dual-licensed in New York and New Jersey, a member of the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force, and a former Director of Community Affairs in the Bloomberg Administration.
We pair hyperlocal reporting like this with a digital reach built for the New York–to–New Jersey move: a YouTube channel with 400K+ views over the trailing year, a 26,500+ member relocation community on Facebook, and 17M+ Pinterest impressions. Our in-house drone series, Above the Streets, shows New Jersey towns from the air — the way relocating buyers first get to know them.
Anthony Licciardello · Broker, The Prodigy Team · 718-873-7345
Entry, mid or luxury — we'll show you which Fair Haven market your home actually trades in, and what that means for pricing it.
What is the median home price in Fair Haven NJ right now?
Recent medians fall in a band of roughly $1.4 million to $1.7 million depending on the source and period (confidence grade: Indicative). Price per square foot runs about $600 to $666. Older entry-tier homes can still trade under $1 million, while new construction typically clears $2 million.
How do Fair Haven property taxes compare to the rest of New Jersey?
The median effective rate is about 1.47%, well below the statewide median of roughly 2.88%. High home values still put the median annual bill around $14,808. Because Monmouth County reassesses annually, the appeal deadline is January 15 rather than April 1.
Is the commute from Fair Haven to New York City workable for daily commuters?
Yes, and it's a big part of why the borough commands its prices. Residents drive or walk to Red Bank Station for direct NJ Transit service to Penn Station, roughly 75 to 95 minutes on the train with express runs at the faster end. For Lower Manhattan, Seastreak ferries from Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, and NY Waterway from Belford, are often faster.
Why are Fair Haven and Rumson so often mentioned together?
They share Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, one of New Jersey's top-ranked public high schools. Fair Haven typically prices roughly 20 to 35 percent below Rumson, where the typical home value is above $2.1 million, so buyers who want that high school without a Rumson price tag come here. That keeps demand high and inventory tight.
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*Details as of publication, from the sources noted, and subject to change. Median price, price-per-square-foot, days-on-market and inventory figures are aggregated from major MLS-sourced reporting platforms covering Fair Haven (ZIP 07704) through Q3 2026, and are published as bands with confidence grades as set out in the Vortex Modeling Disclosure above — never as single point estimates. The median sale price band draws on Redfin closed sales (July–September 2026), Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Century 21 community market pages, and ATTOM Property Navigator; price per square foot on Redfin city-level data; days on market on Redfin monthly and rolling three-month figures plus MLS-sourced portal listings; and active inventory on Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Trulia listing counts. Fair Haven's monthly sample is small, often under a dozen sales, so a few waterfront or new-build closings can move the median sharply. Property tax figures draw on the Monmouth County Board of Taxation, municipal tax collector filings, Ownwell Fair Haven data and the NJ Division of Taxation. Flood-rule references reflect NJDEP's January 2026 REAL adoption and its subsequent proposals; confirm current status with NJDEP before relying on any of it. Population and area are from the 2020 US Census. Commute times, ferry service and parking conditions are approximate and subject to operator schedules. This article is market commentary, not legal, tax or financial advice. Household income, crime statistics and demographic data have been deliberately excluded, as we exclude such material for every community we cover. No prediction is made about future prices, rule changes or any effect on any property's value.
Prodigy Real Estate is an innovative real estate company offering high-end video production, home valuation services, purchasing, and home sales. Serving New York and New Jersey.