Sky high property values in north Jersey keep our housing market afloat

Mortgage crisis hits million-dollar homes�|�US News�|�Reuters.com:
"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sheriff Leo McGuire presides over foreclosure auctions in Bergen County, New Jersey, where the bidding for a home reached $1.2 million last June -- a record for one of the wealthiest counties in the nation."

Although not quite the boom times of a year and more ago, the pressure of rising home values in the Jersey fringes of the New York metro area continues to encourage residents in those places, especially those at or near retirement, to move west along the I-78 corridor even as far as Berks County where I live (about two hours west of the Hudson River).

You can still find plenty of homes in a wide range of size and price offering semi-rural setting, woods, mountain views and similar amenities. Schools are generally safe, local traffic tolerable, taxes reasonable but getting worse. And, there are lots of golf courses.