Now you know why the call it the Garden State -- because it takes a lot of "green" to live there.
Alpine, N.J. has just been named America's most expensive ZIP code by Forbes.com on its annual list. The money mag's site says that homes in Jersey's 07620 have a median asking price of $4.14 million dollars. But as whopping as that is, it's actually down 23 percent from last year.
Manhattan's West Village (10014), came in at third place on the top-500 list, with median asking prices of $3.5 million, which was down 24 percent over the past twelve months.
And it seems the West Village can't compete with Alpine in terms of star wattage either. The New Jersey town is home to a number of celebrities including Chris Rock, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Sean Combs and Patrick Ewing, the Daily News reported.
The News notes that even though the town boasts a number of black superstars, it's nearly 80% white -- and Rock has pointed that out in his comedy bits.
"My next-door neighbor is a white dentist," he's joked. "The only way a black dentist could ever live there would be if he invented teeth!"
The other New York ZIP in the top ten was Lenox Hill's 10065, at #9, where media home prices were $3.18 million, down 10 percent.
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07926 in Brookside, N.J. rounded out the top ten, with home prices of $3.12 million. All of the other top ten spots were taken up by California.
When contacted by the Daily News, the mayor of Alpine, Paul Tomasko, was a little shy at first, saying "We make no effort to enter into this kind of competition." He later called back to add "Alpine is a wonderful place to live and own a home. We're glad Forbes thinks so too."
