Alpine NJ

Alpine NJ

Alpine, N.J. has just been named America's most expensive ZIP code by Forbes.com on its annual list. The money mag's site says that homes in Jersey's 07620 have a median asking price of $4.14 million dollars. But as whopping as that is, it's actually down 23 percent from last year. Manhattan's West Village (10014), came in at third place on the top-500 list, with median asking prices of $3.5 million, which was down 24 percent over the past twelve months. And it seems the West Village can't compete with Alpine in terms of star wattage either. The New Jersey town is home to a number of celebrities including Chris Rock, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Sean Combs and Patrick Ewing, the Daily News reported. The News notes that even though the town boasts a number of black superstars, it's nearly 80% white -- and Rock has pointed that out in his comedy bits.

"My next-door neighbor is a white dentist," he's joked. "The only way a black dentist could ever live there would be if he invented teeth!" The other New York ZIP in the top ten was Lenox Hill's 10065, at #9, where media home prices were $3.18 million, down 10 percent. 07926 in Brookside, N.J. rounded out the top ten, with home prices of $3.12 million. All of the other top ten spots were taken up by California. When contacted by the Daily News, the mayor of Alpine, Paul Tomasko, was a little shy at first, saying "We make no effort to enter into this kind of competition." He later called back to add "Alpine is a wonderful place to live and own a home. We're glad Forbes thinks so too." A host of Hip-Hop superstars have helped a community in Alpine, New Jersey earn the title of “most expensive zip code” by Forbes magazine. A new list published today by the popular magazine revealed that the Alpine zip code of 07620 is the priciest place to live in the United States, with the average home selling for around $4.14 million dollars.

A number of notable Hip-Hop acts have helped inflate the value of the real estate in the area, by purchasing expensive mansions in Alpine, which was formed in 1904. Entrepreneurs and artists like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lil Kim, Fabolous, Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, Andre Harrell, Fabolous and Damon Dash have called Alpine home at one time or another. The neighborhood, which is about 10 miles from Manhattan, edged out zip codes like Atherton, California, which was the second most expensive place to live in the nation with an average cost for a home at about $3.85 million. New York’s West Village is the third on Forbes list, with the average price of a home selling at about $3.5 million dollars. Other esteemed zip codes on the list include 81611 (Aspen, Colorado), 90210 (Beverly Hills) and 93953 (Pebble Beach, California). According to Forbes, all of the top ten places to live in the United States are in California, New York and New Jersey.