T
he cost of buying a home has reached record highs due to inventory shortages in housing markets across the nation. While median home prices vary significantly by county, financing costs also differ greatly between counties. In New Jersey, 21 counties have varying levels of expense when it comes to financing a home.

    A recent study by financial company SmartAsset ranked the state's 10 most expensive counties for financing a home. The top 5 counties from North Jersey, 2 from Central Jersey, and 3 from South Jersey were included in the list. Here are the 10 most expensive NJ counties for financing a home:

    Cape May County tops the list with a score of 26.45, due to its median home value of $704,610 and estimated interest rate of 6.99%. The total financing cost is approximately $1.49 million.

    Monmouth County ranks second with a score of 26.05, resulting in a total financing cost of over $1.46 million. Its median home value is $695,806 and the estimated interest rate is about 6.97%.

    Bergen County comes in third as the highest-ranked North Jersey county on the list. With a median home value of $692,262 and an estimated interest rate of 6.53%, its total financing cost is around $1.4 million.

    The remaining counties on the list are Morris ($1.27 million), Hunterdon ($1.24 million), Somerset ($1.22 million), Essex ($1.21 million), Hudson ($1.17 million), Union ($1.158 million), and Passaic ($1.08 million).

    SmartAsset's ranking was based on three homebuying factors: median home value, estimated interest rate, and down payment amounts. Experts from the company used Freddie Mac national averages to estimate interest rates in each county, which were then applied to the median home values. The results showed that places with higher values are considered the most expensive to finance a home.