Julie and Thomas Blackstock moved to Chatham Borough from Union City, N.J., in 2013 for a reason Ms. Blackstock, a freelance photographer, called “really unoriginal.”
“It’s the same thing with almost anyone you’ll talk to in Chatham,” she said. “We had a small child, and we wanted green space and a back yard, and I couldn’t quite picture myself taking a stroller around the busy streets in the town where we were,” she said.
One other thing cemented the Blackstocks’ decision to buy their three-bedroom Craftsman-style house for a price in the $550,000 range, she said: “The schools, of course.”
The quality of the school district, which serves both the borough and neighboring Chatham Township, both in Morris County, is frequently mentioned by residents and real estate agents as a motivation for house hunters there.
That explains the preponderance of young families like the Blackstocks, who have a 3-year-old son, as well as Taru and Manish Kumar, who moved from Nutley, N.J., to the borough in February with their two boys, ages 7 and 4. “I already see a difference in my 7-year-old son,” Ms. Kumar said. “After two months in school here his language has matured so much.”
The downtown train station was another draw; Mr. Kumar, who works at Citibank in Manhattan, can walk there....
At only 2.4 square miles, the borough, with an old-fashioned Main Street lined with mom-and-pop shops, is highly walkable. But those venturing downtown on foot may need to say “excuse me” a few times: In good weather, sidewalks are dotted with strollers, including the double-wide variety.
“I don’t work outside the home, and in Chatham you’ll find a lot of the same,” said Jen Rein, a mother of 6-year-old twins who has lived there since 2011 and is on the executive board of the Chatham Newcomers and Social Club. “A lot of people just moving in who join the Newcomers Club are from Hoboken or Manhattan, and they’ve either just had a baby or they’re planning to have one,” Ms. Rein said.
There are roughly 9,000 borough residents; Chatham Township, which shares a recreation program and a library with the borough as well as the schools, has roughly 10,500. Properties in the borough tend to be smaller than in the township, said Kim Czachor, an agent at Coldwell Banker in Chatham.
A preference for the borough over the township can be a practical consideration. “People who are moving out from the city may have only one car or no car,” Ms. Czachor said. “They need to be able to walk to the train.” But the slight bustle of downtown can also be a draw for young families, she said. “If you’re moving from Hoboken or the city you’re used to walking, and you may want the social aspect of that.” ...
Multiple offers are common, said Debbie Woerner of Coldwell Banker, as are bids over the asking price.
“Houses do come on in the $400,000 and $500,000 range; sometimes they need a little work,” Ms. Woerner said, adding that buyers are not as eager to take on fixer-uppers as they were a decade ago....
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