Jersey Shore Home Prices are Up, But Here’s What You Can Get for Under $500k

By: Hellen Zaboulani

Homes in New Jersey saw their prices appreciate roughly 27 percent on average over the last two years.

As reported by NJ.com, there are still some homes on the market now that are just below the $500,000 price range, despite low inventory.

As of April, the median price for a home in the Garden State was $460,000, as per the most recent data from NJ Realtors. The median price is up 8 percent over last year, and up $20,000 over March alone.  “With the market climbing, it’s made it that much more difficult to get something at a reasonable price point,” said Kevin Redmond of Long & Foster in Ocean City. “They’re being fueled by a lack of inventory.”  There are currently 240 homes for sale in the Ocean City area, down from some 800 to 1,000 normally on the market in the neighborhood. “It’s a significant drop,” Redmond said. “We’ve been averaging around the 200-home mark for about a year. That is really what’s pushing pricing. It’s the typical law of supply and demand.”

A home on the beach side of Point Pleasant Beach in the need for some repairs and work, used to sell for somewhere around $350,000 to $400,000, said George Kasimos of George Kasimos Real Estate. “Now there is no limit, especially for someone who wants to get in this summer.”  With some patience and compromise though, there are still some options one can find.

NJ.com found at least five deals currently listings as available.  In Ocean City, in the heart of the downtown Bay Area neighborhood, there is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home listed asking $449,000.  This is the cheapest home this size in Ocean City.  The listing from realtor.com, says the home on the second floor at 914 Pleasure Ave, boasts an open floor plan, cathedral ceilings, a new front deck, and new vinyl flooring in the hallway and great room.  In Stone Harbor, there is a fully renovated one-bedroom, one-bath condo for sale at 9816 2nd Ave.  Centrally located just two blocks from the beach and two blocks from 96th Street, the home is asking $499,000.

As per NJ.com, in Point Pleasant Beach there is a fixer-upper with four bedrooms and one bathroom.  The cottage, at 5 Hendricksons Row, is on a beach block, and is asking $479,000. Another home, listed at an attainable price, is at 1728 Newman St in Belmar.  The one-bedroom, one-bathroom is just four blocks from the beach.  Asking $425,000, it boasts a new bathroom, skylights, a private yard and a cozy front porch.   At Avon By The Sea Condos, in Monmouth County, there is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home asking $449,000.  The home is on Main Street, less than four blocks away from the beach.  There are more condos similar to this one in this price point.