Cherry Hill's median single-family home price hit $562,500 in May, a 7.1% jump from a year earlier, according to local market data compiled by the Scott Kompa Group citing NJ Realtors figures.

In May, homes sold in about 14 days, and sellers received 104.3% of their asking price. The year-to-date Cherry Hill median of $539,500 was well above the Camden County median of $399,900. Through July, Cherry Hill's year-to-date median reached $550,000, according to the Scott Kompa Group's July market summary.

The local numbers track a statewide trend. Median home prices across New Jersey rose 3.8% through August, with prices climbing in 18 of the state's 21 counties, NJ Spotlight News reported Monday, Sept. 21.

Those rising prices are generating a windfall for Trenton. Tax receipts from the state's realty transfer fee, paid by sellers, jumped more than 18% in August, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury reported. Combined with revenue from the revamped "graduated percent fee" on sales above $1 million, the two levies have brought in nearly $130 million since the fiscal year began July 1.

The graduated percent fee replaced what was long known as the mansion tax. Former Gov. Phil Murphy signed the overhaul, which added higher tiers on sales crossing $2 million, $2.5 million, $3 million and $3.5 million. The fee has generated nearly $70 million on its own since July 1, according to Treasury data.

Douglas Tomson, chief executive of New Jersey Realtors, said the fee can push prices higher because sellers pass the cost to buyers. A homeowner who bought a modest house in the 1980s now faces a million-dollar valuation and an extra $10,000 fee to sell, Tomson told NJ Spotlight News. "They need to increase the property value, and that affects the person that's buying it," he said.

Tomson said New Jersey's market is "an outlier" from national trends. Bidding wars persist, he said, and demand remains strong.

Meanwhile, the state's ANCHOR property tax relief program began distributing payments the week of Sept. 15 on a rolling basis, according to the NJ Division of Taxation. The program, formally called Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters, sends up to $1,500 to homeowners earning under $150,000 and $1,000 to those earning between $150,000 and $250,000. Renters earning under $150,000 receive $450, with an additional $250 for those 65 and older.

The state put $2.186 billion behind ANCHOR in the fiscal year 2027 budget signed June 30.

But the benefit amounts have not changed since the program launched five years ago. Marita Sciarrotta, director of the NJ Division of Taxation, told WHYY in August that "the ANCHOR payments are the same as they were when the program was launched five years ago."

That flat benefit sits against a record average property tax bill of $10,570 statewide, up $475 from the prior year, according to state data reported by NJ Spotlight News in February. The increase outpaced the 2.7% inflation rate.

With mortgage rates hovering near 6.6% to 6.7% as of early September, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Cherry Hill buyers face a market where prices, taxes and borrowing costs all pull in the same direction.

Homeowners and renters who have not previously received an ANCHOR payment must apply by Nov. 2 through the state's online portal. Seniors 65 and older and disability benefit recipients must file a separate PAS-1 form by the same deadline.