It’s where the Jonas Brothers grew up and where pro-baseball player Bucky Dent once lived. Now, the enclave of Wyckoff, NJ, is making a name for itself with its million-dollar homes and small-town charm, even though it sits just 29 miles from the hustle of New York City.
Most recently, “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy and his wife, Kathy, put their home in the neighborhood on the market to make the move to Florida. The couple bought the home in 1994 for $585,000, and it’s where they raised their family.
Realtor.com® exclusively revealed that Doocy listed the property on June 19—confirming that he was ready to fully commit to life down South. Records reveal that the home went under contract a week later. Although the home was listed for $1.75 million, it is unclear whether the offer met his full asking price—or if he managed to secure a buyer willing to pay even more for the traditional home.
Homes in Wyckoff don’t come cheap—the median list price is $1.1M, and unlike much of the country, prices aren’t falling there. They’re climbing. The median sold price is $1.15M.
“We’re not having price reductions. Things are still hot here, there are bidding wars,” says resident and local agent Patricia “Patti” DePhillips, of Terrie O’Connor Realtors, who listed Doocy’s home.
In January, DePhillips, who has been selling real estate in town for 17 years, sold a house near Zabriskie Pond for $210,000 over the $1.425 million asking price. She says that isn’t unusual by any means.
There are currently only 28 active listings in Wyckoff, and only one listing—built last summer—is new construction. It’s a five-bedroom house priced at $3.5 million.
Life in Wyckoff
Wyckoff, in Bergen County, isn’t a monolithic town, at least in terms of real estate. It may be a suburb of New York City; but with about 17,000 residents, it has a small “Hallmark” town feel and a variety of housing stock: mansions, starter homes, condos, multiuse buildings, 55-plus communities.
At least 90% of the town’s residents own their homes, and the median income as of 2023 was as high as $196,632, according to the Census Bureau.
It has a bustling downtown area converging on Wyckoff and Franklin Avenues—but also boasts its fair share of quiet, out-of-the way streets. It has a large library and a YMCA, several parks, a spring-fed swimming lake with sandy beaches, and a fishing pond.
There’s a reasonable 29-mile commute to NYC by either car, express bus, or New Jersey Transit. And DePhillips says you get more bang for your buck here than in the more well-known Ridgewood, where prices are essentially the same as Wyckoff’s.
“Ridgewood is a bit more of an urban town,” she says. “That’s where you get more of your postage-stamp sized properties. For people who want a little more land, they come to Wyckoff.”
DePhillips says people become so loyal to their kids’ elementary schools (there are four in town) that they refuse to upgrade homes until the kids graduate. There’s a healthy dose of small businesses—toy stores, restaurants, a diner, a few bars, two grocery stores, a working farm, and even a Marshalls.
“People weren’t that happy when it came in,” she says of the box store. “But it brings in shoppers from all around, and they all eat out.”
It’s the kind of place where the mayor, Republican Rudy Boonstra, grew up there, never lived anywhere else, and owns a milk-distribution company, Sicomac Dairy, which opened in 1918.
“He literally delivers milk,” DePhillips says.
“My family’s been here for over 100 years—it was much more rural when I was young,” Boonstra tells Realtor.com. “But we have the same small-town charm I remember. That’s not easy to do. Every single day, there is pressure for overdevelopment.”
He adds: “We have great sports program, great schools, and a very involved citizenship. Kids grow up, get married and move away, but many find their way back.”
It’s the kind of place, says DePhillips, where you might go to the local diner and not only wave at the person “using their loose change in the car to pay for their coffee” but also the Wall Street-type headed into the city at 5 a.m.
There are multiple churches with an array of religions—and church is where DePhillips, who has lived in town for 22 years, says she became friends with Doocy.
“I see Steve getting his mail,” she says.
“I go to a lot of open houses,” she notes. “That’s my job. And I always ask people, ‘Why do you want to come to Wyckoff?’ And they’ll sometimes say they grew up there, or their spouse did, or they have family here.
“Then there’s always those say, ‘I just want to come here. I’ve heard great things about it.'”
