Fort Lee, NJ Real Estate Guide for Buyers, Sellers & Renters

Fort Lee sits on top of the Palisades at the New Jersey end of the George Washington Bridge, in eastern Bergen County. The borough had 40,191 residents in the 2020 Census, up from about 35,000 in 2010, packed into roughly two and a half square miles of land. A skyline of high-rise towers, Hudson River and Manhattan views, direct bus service into the city and a history as the first home of the American film industry set Fort Lee apart from every other town in the county. Here's what to know before you buy, sell, rent or invest in Fort Lee.

Why People Choose Fort Lee

Location is the headline. Fort Lee is the New Jersey gateway to the George Washington Bridge, and a long list of highways converge at the bridge plaza.

The setting is the other draw. Fort Lee Historic Park covers 33 landscaped acres on the cliffs just south of the bridge, with overlooks of the Hudson, Manhattan and the GWB. Downtown has filled in with newer development, including Hudson Lights, a one-million-square-foot mixed-use project at the base of the bridge that opened its first apartments, shops and an iPic theater in 2016. And Fort Lee's food scene is well known across the region, with Korean restaurants and food shops along Main Street, Lemoine Avenue and Center Avenue.

Getting Around: Commuting from Fort Lee

Fort Lee has no NJ Transit train station, so most transit trips start with a bus. Fortunately, there are plenty of them.

• Bus to Midtown: NJ Transit routes 154, 156, 158 and 159 run to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
• Bus across the bridge: Routes including the 178, 181, 182, 186 and 188 serve the George Washington Bridge Plaza and continue to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Upper Manhattan. Rockland Coaches routes along Route 9W also stop in the borough.
• Car: The George Washington Bridge (I-95), the Palisades Interstate Parkway, Route 4, U.S. Route 46, U.S. Route 1/9 and Route 9W all pass through or begin in Fort Lee, so the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 17 and the rest of Bergen County are close by.

Neighborhoods and Housing Types

Fort Lee's housing stock is unusual for Bergen County because so much of it is vertical. The borough has been adding high-rise apartment buildings since the 1960s, and several towers rise more than 300 feet. Around them you'll find a mix of other property types:

• High-rise co-ops and condos: Depending on the building, units may come with river or skyline views, garage parking and other amenities, often at a lower entry point than a house.
• Newer rental towers: Recent construction downtown, including the apartments at Hudson Lights, offers modern rental living near the bridge.
• Single-family homes: Houses in a range of ages and styles.
• Two-family homes and small multifamily buildings: Worth watching for if you want rental income to help with the mortgage.
• Coytesville: The northernmost section of Fort Lee and one of its oldest, founded in the 1840s. It sits atop the Palisades with narrow, hilly streets and has its own film-era history: Carl Laemmle shot the silent film Hiawatha here in 1909.

Buying a Home in Fort Lee

For most buyers, buying in Fort Lee means buying in a building, and that comes with homework a single-family purchase doesn't require. Here's what we help buyers check:

• Co-op board rules: Each co-op sets its own down payment, financing, approval and sublet policies. We review them before you write an offer.
• Maintenance and HOA fees: We look at what the monthly charge covers, the building's reserves and any planned or recent special assessments.
• Parking and building amenities: Garage spaces, storage and amenity fees vary by building and affect your monthly cost.
• Financing: Not every condo building qualifies for FHA financing, and co-ops follow their own lending rules. If you're looking at a two-to-four family home, an FHA loan can work with a low down payment as long as you live in one of the units.
• Property taxes: We pull the current tax figure for every home you're considering so you can budget accurately.

Need a pre-approval first? We can connect you with a lender before you start touring.

Selling Your Fort Lee Home

A Fort Lee co-op, a high-rise condo with a river view and a single-family house each sell to a different pool of buyers, and units in the same building can vary widely based on floor, exposure and view. Pricing has to reflect those details. We'll prepare a free comparative market analysis based on recent sales of homes like yours, help gather the building documents buyers and boards will ask for and market your home across the MLS and every major online channel.

Renting and Investing in Fort Lee

Between its high-rise rental buildings, newer downtown towers and frequent bus service to Manhattan, Fort Lee offers renters a wide choice of apartments. We help renters find a unit that fits their budget and commute, and we help landlords price, market and screen tenants.

For investors, the key question in Fort Lee is often whether a building allows rentals at all. Many co-ops restrict subletting, while condos and the occasional two-family offer more flexibility. We'll help you confirm the rules and run realistic numbers on rent, taxes, fees and insurance before you buy.

Local Landmarks and Amenities

• George Washington Bridge and the GWB Plaza
• Fort Lee Historic Park, with its visitor center and Hudson River overlooks
• Barrymore Film Center on Main Street, a theater and film museum celebrating Fort Lee's role as the birthplace of the American film industry
• Hudson Lights shopping, dining and iPic theater
• Monument Park on Palisade Avenue
• Fort Lee Public Library on Main Street
• Public schools: Fort Lee School District, including Fort Lee High School

Nearby Town Guides

Comparing Fort Lee with nearby towns? Read our guides to Edgewater, Cliffside Park, Leonia and Englewood Cliffs, or browse all of our North Jersey town guides.

Talk to a Local Broker

The Thompson Realty Group is a licensed New Jersey real estate brokerage based at 20 MacArthur Ave in Garfield, serving buyers, sellers, renters and investors across Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties. Whether you're a first-time FHA buyer, a cash investor, or a homeowner wondering what your place is worth, we'll give you straight answers about Fort Lee.

Call or text 201-928-5562 or book a free 15-minute consultation. You can also search every active New Jersey listing on our website.

Information on this page is provided for general guidance and is believed accurate as of October 2026. Programs, ordinances, taxes and transit schedules change, so please verify details for any specific property. Equal Housing Opportunity.