Here are the celebrities who have bought and sold homes in N.J.

We all know the household names who call New Jersey home – Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Rock.

But there are dozens of others who choose to live in the Garden State. And who can blame them?

New Jersey has easy access to New York City and Philadelphia and suburban, rural, urban and coastal neighborhoods to please any preference.

“You can get a lot of house and property for the money and we have great school systems,” said Marilyn Bielory of Weichert Realtors in Short Hills.

Some celebrities move here because they want to be close to where they grew up.

Others are seeking a better life for their own kids.

“They’re telling me they don’t want their kids to smell marijuana on the streets in New York City,” said Diane Statile of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. “I had a client who had a premiere address in New York City who just got tired of the untidiness – people not curbing their dogs – that was the draw to move to New Jersey.”

The Robert Dekanski Team with ReMax 1st Advantage in Colonia studied real estate transactions from January to December 2023 to compile a list of celebrities who bought and sold properties in New Jersey.

Here’s what they found

1. Aaron Rogers

The New York Jets quarterback paid $9.5 million for a Montclair home with eight bedrooms and nine full- and one half-bathroom. The nearly quarter-acre lot has a view of the New York City skyline. And it has a three-car garage. The home was listed in May for $11 million but Rogers got for $1.5 million below the asking price.

2. Jesse Watters

The host of “Jesse Watters Primetime” and co-host of “The Five” sold one New Jersey home and bought another. Watters bought a two story, more than 10,000-square-foot home in Bernardsville with five bedrooms, five full- and four half-bathrooms. It sits on 5.64 acres. The home was listed in March 2022 for $3,995,000. The price was lowered three months later to $3.5 million and Watters paid $2.76 million for the home in January 2023.

Watters sold a three-bedroom, two-bathroom roughly 2,000-square-foot home in Beach Haven that’s steps from the beach. Watters bought the home in April 2021 for $1.1 million and made upgrades to it, including renovating the kitchen and installing an epoxy floor in the two-car garage. The home was initially listed Oct. 13, 2022 for $1,999,000. The price was lowered two weeks later to $1,899,000. And the home sold in March 2023 for $1,650,000.

3. Zygi Wilf

The billionaire business man, real estate developer and owner of the Minnesota Vikings sold his six-bedroom, nine full- and two half-bathroom custom built home that backs to Baltusrol Golf Course in Springfield. It was listed in July for $3.25 million. A few weeks later the price was dropped to $2.75 million. It sold in September for $2,756,000.

4. Deena Cortese

No surprise, we have a “Jersey Shore” alumni and current cast member of “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” on the list. Deena Cortese sold and bought homes in New Jersey last year. She traded a five-bedroom, four-bathroom nearly 2,800-square-foot colonial in Jackson for a 5,000-square-foot five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Allentown.

Cortese, who grew up in nearby New Egypt, bought the Allentown home in August 2022 for $1.4 million and then listed the Jackson home in November 2022 for $849,000. In February 2023, the price was reduced to $830,000 and the home sold in May 2023 for $800,000.

5. Sammi Giancola

Another “Jersey Shore” alumni and current cast member of “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” made a move last year. Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola bought a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Pine Beach. The Hazlet native paid $750,000 for the nearly 3,000-square-foot center hall colonial.

6. Artie Lange

Comedian, actor and radio personality Artie Lange sold his townhome in Roseland for its full asking price of $679,000 in May 2023. The two-bedroom, two full- and one half-bathroom unit is in the Roseland Green complex. Lange, a Union Township native, was the original owner of the 20-year-old townhome.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.