It all begins with listening to you.

There is nothing more interesting to me than the issues of the built enviornment.

About Polton

Richard Polton has thirty years of experience in real estate, planning and development.  He has a curious mind and wants to understand what makes things tick in the real estate world.

His experience and training include appraisals, planning reports, study of urban history, redevelopment, and affordable housing. His consulting includes work on residential feasibility and marketability analysis. He has written books on urban history, architectural history and affordable housing market analysis.  He lectures frequently and serves as a participant in numerous planning projects. He is an award winning developer of transit oriented, mixed income, mixed use development.

Polton was a founding principal in 1996 in Value Research Group, LLC, one of the leading real estate valuation firms in New Jersey. At VRG, Polton served as a consultant and analyst to developers, not for profits, governmental agencies, educational institutions, hospitals and non-profits on a wide variety of real estate. Since December 2019. Polton has operated Polton Real Estate Advisory, LLC .

Polton is available as a consultant for selective projects where his expertise and resources are appropriate. His primary interest is in projects that will make a substantive difference in New Jersey’s communities.

Current Activities

Here are some examples of what Polton is up to recently:

  • Advising property owners on how to maximize the value of their property through representing them in the valuation, negotiation process with potneital purchers, monitoring entitlements

  • Valuations for some of New Jersey’s best known developers, not for profits, and intitutions.

  • Reviews of appraisals and rent studies for Governmental Agencies, including NJHMFA.

  • Specialized Consulting Reports Polton has prepared many of the required documents for NJHMFA submissions. Notably, he had completed numerous Section 101 Inclusionary Feasability Analysis that are required as part of the tax credit approval process.

Professional Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia University in American History

    Bachelor in Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design

    Masters degrees in City Planning (MCP) and Architecture (M. Arch. A.S) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  • MAI: Appraisal Institute

    AICP American Institute of Certified Planners 1996-2010

    Licensed Professional Planner (5255), State of New Jersey

    Certified: General Real Estate Appraiser, (RG 000194) State of New Jersey

    CRE: Counselors of Real Estate

    Member: National Council of Housing Market Analysts (founding member), American Planning Association, Urban Land Institute, NJ Future

  • Founding Member and Former National Chair, National Council of Housing Market Analysts (NCHMA). Polton saw the need for a national group of professional Housing Analysts. He helped found the group and has helped set in motion national standards, ethics and education in this specialized field. The group has raised the national standards for affordable housing analysis and is now the recognized national leader in the field.

    Former Trustee, Hamilton Partnership for Paterson, Paterson, NJ, 2013 to 2018. Now serving as a consultant to HPP

    Board Member, New Jersey Community Capital, Trenton, NJ, 2009 to 2014

    Board Member, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, 2015 to 2018

    Regional Plan Association (RPA), Panel Member, New Jersey, 2016 to present

    President, Jewish Historical Society of Northern New Jersey. This local history group is based in Passaic, Bergen and portions of Hudson County and has an active program and membership. Polton was President for five years and is now on the Executive Board.