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Alex Saka was in the middle of a career change two years ago when he decided to rent his home in West Long Branch for the summer in hopes of generating some extra income.
There was so much demand that he found his new career: real estate agent.
"I rented it right away," said Saka, 37, an agent at Avenue Realty in Ocean Township. "As soon as I got my license, I was already producing a high volume of sales."
Saka's timing turned out to be perfect. The average price of a home sold in West Long Branch jumped from $534,618 in 2020 to $916,131 in 2022, or 71.4%, an Asbury Park Press analysis has found. It marked the biggest increase among towns at the Shore with more than 25 homes sold.
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Like most towns in Monmouth and Ocean counties during the pandemic, West Long Branch benefited from a wave of New Yorkers who took advantage of record low mortgage rates and moved to town in search of more space to live and work.
But Saka and other observers said West Long Branch's housing market got an extra boost in demand from the Sephardic Jewish community, who increasingly are finding the town offers key assets: It is more affordable than New York, it is close to the beach, and it is in walking distance to synagogues.
"A lot of Manhattanites came down, and after COVID some people went back, but some people liked it and stayed," said Joy Betesh, an Ocean Township resident who publishes the Kosher Connection Pocket Guide, a business directory. "People felt you get more for your money here, even though prices here are crazy."
The Asbury Park Press analyzed home sales for towns in Monmouth and Ocean counties from 2020 to 2022 using data from the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Fifty-three towns in the two counties had at least 25 sales.
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Those towns during the two years when the pandemic raged saw their average sales price climb from $534,623 to $700,212, or 31%, according to the data.
The towns with the biggest gains seem to have different demographic forces at work. In Manchester, where nearly half of the population is 65 or older, average prices for its relatively affordable stable of homes rose 57%. Surf City, with seaside properties on Long Beach Island that attracted second-home owners, saw its prices rise 53%, the data found.
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One commonality: Demand for homes far exceeded supply.
West Long Branch, home to Monmouth University, saw its inventory of homes for sale fall from 35 a month in 2019, the year before the pandemic began, to 18 in 2021, before ticking up to 21 in 2022, according to the Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors, a trade group.
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Real estate agents say the frenzied pace of home sales during the pandemic has cooled in part because of higher mortgage rates. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has increased from 2.67% at the end of 2020 to 6.67% in mid-June of this year.
But the housing market in West Long Branch remains strong. Saka said he recently listed a home on Fulton Street for $1.25 million. It didn't fetch its listing price, but it got multiple offers and sold after spending just 10 days on the market.
The market "is still very hot," Saka said. "Any property that hits the market in West Long Branch is moving quickly."
What towns saw the biggest leaps in home prices at the Shore? Here's a look.
1. West Long Branch
2020: $534,618
2022: $916,131
Percent change: 71.4%
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2. Seaside Park
2020: $523,988
2022: $840,933
Percent change: 60.5%
3. Manchester
2020: $206,756
2022: $324,572
Percent change: 57.0%
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4. Seaside Heights
2020: $253,2882022: $396,739Percent change: 56.6%
5. Surf City
2020: $804,332
2022: $1.23 million
Percent change: 53.0%
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6. Long Beach Township
2020: $1.06 million
2022: $1.58 million
Percent change: 49.2%
7. Toms River
2020: $360,932
2022: $537,950
Percent change: 49%
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8. Ocean Gate
2020: $223,860
2022: $314,350
Percent change: 47.6%
9. Little Egg Harbor
2020: $214,811
2022: $314,350
Percent change: 46.3%
10. Ocean Township (Monmouth)
2020: $570,343
2022: $824,924
Percent change: 44.6%
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
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