The median price of all new single-family homes built in Monmouth County last year was $810,000, more than 3.5 times the national median of $230,000, according to a new report from the county Planning Board.
Typical size: 3,875 square feet, on three-quarters of an acre of land.
Cheapest available from a developer: $400,000, at Laurel Estates in Hazlet.
And if that’s your price point, you’d better move fast. The county divides all new homes into five price clusters, from low to high, and prices in the lowest range jumped a whopping 25 percent from 2005, while all of the other categories posted single-digit increases.
Since 2000, prices for the cheapest homes have soared by 212 percent, twice as fast as in the top price tier. We’re not talking shoeboxes, though. Even in the lowest price category, homes sizes ranged from 2,401 to 4,400 square feet.
The study looked at 139 developments comprising 6,756 housing units. Privately built homes were not included.
The report finds a continuing shift in the county to housing that’s restricted to residents 55 and older, with nearly half of all units falling into that category. Four towns — Manalapan, Ocean Township, Marlboro and Freehold Township — accounted for 80 percent of the age-restricted units built.
Excluding age-restricted, one of every five single-family homes built last year was priced at or above $1 million.
At the two Red Bank developments included in the survey, the prices ranged from $1.3 million to $2.3 million at Corninthian Cove on West Front Street (pictured above) and from $1.5 million to $2 million at Union Street Village.
And people wonder why there's an influx of high-end retail in Red Bank and Monmouth County. We moved our jewelry store from a dying mill-town in Western Massachusetts in part because of the affluence of this region, but mostly because I am a Jersey Shore native and it was time to move back closer to family. No one in Western Mass can afford to buy custom jewelry (or even have a ring sized for that matter) and besides that, there's no reason to buy jewelry there because there are no events to wear fancy jewelry. To put it bluntly, there is no money in Western Mass. Our town didn't even have enough money to fully staff its police and fire departments, let alone paint its beautiful old library. Consequently, Greenfield, MA is the number one location for crystal meth deals. So count your blessings Red Bank. Remember this…nothing ever stays the same…so a town is either catching the rising tide or coasting downhill to a sad and lonely death.
Would you care to give the name and address of your new custom jewelry shop?
Most people do not wonder how or why high-end retailers came to this area. We have been very much aware of the driving forces and faces connected with what has taken place in Red Bank and Monmouth County (including eminent domain) for quite a while. That a few fortunate people are able to move into town and take advantage of the current climate does not make profit-driven overdevelopment and redevelopment or excessive cost the right things, the best things or the good things for everyone else. I can think of six high-end retailers selling art, homewares, clothing and candy who came to Red Bank with big expectations and left within a few years with a better understanding of who buys what and for how much. Mid-level retailers and restaurants are on the same list. Other people can name more examples. There are many, many towns in the state and the country –from Southampton to Newtonville and Morristown to Moorestown–which have been able to hold a stable course. The idea that our residents have a choice between drug deals on every corner (by the way, Red Bank has a good assortment of gangs) and outrageous expense coupled with over-stretched infrastructure just is not valid. Change is absolutely inevitable. Whether it will be good or bad is often not known for some time. Whether it is good or bad is often purely personal opinion.
Ronald Hayes Pearson and William Scholl have places in my collection.
people forget the cost of housing for one second. it used to be people could afford the house but not the downpayment. today its i can afford the house but i can't afford the taxes. i have had 3 assessments in the last 7 years, i'm middle class and have a hard time keeping up. i bought my house knowing taxes go up, but not in a idea to push me out. red bank residents (most) don't have property to justify what we are assessed at. i don't mind paying 10,000+ if i had something to show for it. with the economy today those people making 6 or 7 figure salaries are not making that anymore. the whole state is expensive no matter where you go.who the hell wants to live in hazlet over red bank? people complain but there is truly nothing like the jersey shore. what can we do?
There are plenty of affordable options in monmouth county. Western Asbury Park, Western RB, north of Route 36, parts of Freehold, etc. come to mind.
Those locations all have something in common…can't quite put my finger on it but…
BLB - you should take West RB off your list of affordable places in Monmouth.
I'm not sure how affordable West RB is any more, at least not for a middle class family. There's no way my wife and I could afford to buy the house we live in on the west side now - and the reassessment and its accompanied tax hike may yet push us out.
Homes I see being purchased are mostly being bought by absentee investor landlords. they then become affordable rentals - if you cram enough people into them to share the rent.
Hi Artisan, Our store is Joel McFadden Designs at 11 White Street. Thankfully, our landlord is very reasonable in his rents. My comment was not to condone the rising prices, and in fact we have not been able to afford housing in Monmouth County since we moved from Massachusetts. It just seems that birds of a feather flock together, and this area is attracting the rich and famous, which is good for a custom jeweler. Interestingly, I have found that our prices aren't nearly as high as some of the older stores in town. Again, we moved back to this area to be closer to our roots and family, and accepted the strong economic climate as an added bonus.
BLB are you kidding Asbury Park? See the high school lately. north of 36? Trailer parks,bars,hookers! beautiful downtown keansburg, union beach, shall i name a few more. people don't choose to live in these areas. they are either born and raised or renting. please ask yourself would you want your kid to go to keansburg H.S. or red bank regional. 62% of red banks taxes go to school system. red bank is amazing compared to 20 years ago. now that it looks beautiful and people love living here all this $$$$$ and power is GREED. if you knocked your house down to build a new one, who still pays your taxes? YOU DO!!! the moment Hovanian broke ground he should have been assessed and started paying taxes to absorb all us little people. Businessess should be absorbing. That is what's going on, and until the belt gets tightened down at Borough hall and the mayors office it will never end. Is your house in red bank assessed at say 400,000 worth paying 8,000 and up in taxes a year? I DON"T THINK SO!!!!!!!
I live in L.S. this town spends money like it's water,my taxes are over 22K, I've given up .People here forget this area was a chicken farm not to long ago…CLUCK
redbsnk resident,
You state that over 62% of our taxes go to the schools, and then blame the town council? I would put that closer to 72% and ask the school board to buckel down. Also try voting on the school budget, about 300 residents voted on the last several budgets. This does not mean the Mayor and Council can't do more, but school taxes are what is completely out of control.
True sue
The last chickens left when the house on the NW corner of Parker and Parker was built.
What came first, the chicken or the egg?