New Jersey’s Value Real Estate Markets Part 2

Barnegat Township OCEAN COUNTY

According to a number of reports, Lennar and D.R. Horton are building approximately 600 luxury homes in active-adult communities, bringing the township’s existing age-restricted homes to more than 3,000.  These prestigious builders are two of the largest builders in the United States.

The starting prices for these new constructions come in at the mid-$400K level, which brings a great deal of value into a highly appreciated market. Many of these feature upscale amenities that translated into a new value in this economy.  These new homes become part of the already built adult communities, which represent approximately a third of the area’s population, which has grown to over 25,000 since 2000.

These existing adult community properties have benefited from the recent uptick in demand with median sales prices coming in $360,000 in 2021.

The area cuts across a 40-square-mile township stretching from the Pine Barrens to Barnegat Bay, opposite Long Beach Island.

Sayreville/South Amboy MIDDLESEX COUNTY

When there is a scarcity of anything, people discover, or rediscover opportunities they may have overlooked. Now, with approximately $3 billion in mixed-use funds, the redevelopment is being planned for Sayreville in Middlesex County – which offers a train ride or direct ferry service to Manhattan.

It has been reported that developers are planning as many as 1,750 luxury apartments to be built on 55 acres around the Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway. It is expected that the first 250 apartments will be available in October 2021. There are a number of other residential proposals pending for Sayrevilles’s waterfront area, which is close by NJ Transit’s Northern Coastal service from South Amboy station. 

Sayreville has a long-delayed, mixed-use redevelopment of the site. The first building, a Bass Pro Shop, is projected to open in 2023. This has been  a redevelopment project spanning 4 decades. It was first proposed back in 1999, which sought to tackle the 400-acre, $2.5 billion, mixed-use project with hotels, offices, 2,000 housing units, and a Main Street-style shopping district on the Raritan River. All of this is good news for the nearly 44,000 residents of Sayreville.

Ventnor City ATLANTIC COUNTY

There is a great deal of redevelopment activity going on in Atlantic County, specifically in Ventnor City. Contractors are looking to redevelop this region, which has been hard-hit by many of the maladies encountered from neighboring Atlantic City. The New Jersey seaside has over the last 20 years seen an erosion in its population of 9,717, but as Atlantic City recovers, so should this town. Most houses can be had for under $350,000. As of September 2021, Atlantic County saw the price of an average single-family home increase by 7%. The median selling price of a home went for $265,000. Even the average number of days on market are falling to just 65 days, as compared to 78, back in September 2020. The available inventory in September was 414 homes, which compares to the 610 that were available the prior year.

Renovations and new construction are driving prices up.

Buyers are being drawn by the town’s beaches, which has a non-commercial beachfront boardwalk that connects with Atlantic City, as well as good restaurants. A good sign of a stable economy is that the prices of homes are rising and inventory is finally being purchased.