Five-minute read
Michael L. Diamond,Jean MikleAsbury Park Press
The Jersey Shore's summer rental market is ahead of last year's pace, but visitors faced with expensive housing options are opting for shorter stays, according to data compiled by the research group AirDNA for the Asbury Park Press.
The report is a sign that the upcoming summer tourism season should be strong, even though many owners offering longer-term, weekly rentals still have vacancies.
"We're OK, it's just not on fire," said Mike Loundy, Seaside Heights community development director and owner of Seaside Realty, noting weekly rents for larger homes are $5,500 to $7,500, depending on size and location.
Visitors often book their vacation plans in the winter and spring, making the seasonal rental market a good indicator for the upcoming tourism season. There is lots at stake: In 2022, visitors spent $8.2 billion in Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to Tourism Economics, a research firm.
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The Shore's seasonal real estate market filled up fast during the pandemic. Vacationers found the beach one of the few destinations they could safely visit. And they stayed a long time, thanks to technology that allowed them to work remotely.
As the economy has reopened, observers said, consumers have returned to their old ways, hopping on airplanes at record levels, leaving the Shore to rely on its bread-and-butter of friends and families gathering at beach houses in what has been a tradition.
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'You kind of forget time'
Michael Kelly, 59, of Melrose, Massachusetts, is one of them. He grew up in Rockland County, New York, and has been coming to Lavallette with his family for week-long stays, beginning the first Saturday after July 4, since he was 10.
As Kelly and his family have gotten older and now have children of their own, they have returned. Even though his rental this year will cost $3,000, he said it is a more affordable option than Cape Cod.
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"You kind of forget time when you're down there," Kelly said. "We don't see each other for a year, we talk on social media and stuff like that, but once we sit down on the beach in a beach chair in a semi-circle, it's almost like we never left."
The Shore's summer rental season remains brisk. AirDNA, a research group that studies online sites Airbnb and VBRO, found bookings for July and August at the Shore are up more than 20%, higher than the national average.
The demand is aided by a strong job market, wage growth that is outpacing inflation, improving consumer confidence and a weakening U.S. dollar that has made prices in Europe more expensive, said Bram Gallagher, an economist with AirDNA.
But a closer analysis found a sharp difference: Rentals for stays of less than five days are up 34% in July and 45% in August; rentals for stays of more than five days are virtually flat, Gallagher found.
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A new routine for summer rentals
Local Realtors say the seasonal housing market has lost the bounce it got during the pandemic and is settling into a new routine. Visitors who have been pinched by inflation might be opting for shorter stays to save money. But owners, who are seeing lower demand for week-long bookings, aren't concerned, knowing they can always use the vacation home themselves on days that it's empty of guests.
Matthew Schlosser, president of Schlosser Real Estate in Lavallette, only rents properties for at least a week. He said bookings in his office were down 7.7% from last year. And last year was down 8% from 2022. But he didn't sound worried; he noted bookings are still up about 30% from 2019, the last pre-pandemic summer.
Duane Watlington, founder of Vacation Rentals Jersey Shore, websites that market rentals inLong Beach Island,Ocean CityandWildwood, said about 30% of his inventory on LBI during the peak season remained available, similar to this time last year. By comparison, about 10% of his inventory was available in 2021.
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And in Seaside Heights, Loundy described the summer market as "fair," although he was hopeful that more renters will show interest when the weather breaks.
For hold-outs hoping for late deals, discounts remain hard to find. A three-bedroom beachfront cottage in Lavallette is available the week of July 6, but will cost $10,975. A five-bedroom home in Ship Bottom is available the week of July 14, but will cost $10,500.
"There are some owners that might discount their prices last minute, but they haven't done it yet," Watlington said.
Owners renting their homes for shorter stays are finding more luck. Erin Taffera, a Flemington resident, said his family has had a home in Manasquan since the late 1970s. He still visits six to eight times a season, but he began renting it three years ago using the website VRBO.
Taffera said most of his guests stay for fewer than five days. And he has seen a surge in interest during the past six weeks.
"I see myself being fully booked for the summer by, I would say, mid-June," Taffera said.
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.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 39 years. She's also passionateabout the Shore's storied music scene.Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.
