2 South Jersey Towns Among USA’s Hottest Real Estate Markets

New research from the Philadephia Business Journal ranks two South Jersey Shore towns among the hottest real estate markets in the country. And those red-hot markets have propelled other Jersey Shore towns' prices to climb.

A Business Journals analysis of pricing trends shows Jersey Shore towns are dominating the hottest residential markets in the Philadelphia region and Margate and Wildwood have climbed into the top 30 hottest markets in America.

This research shows that Margate is now the No. 16 hottest market in the country with home values that have jumped 80% over the past five years from $483,300 to $871,700. According to Philadephia Business Journal, that includes a 7% rise over the past year alone, even as home prices nationally have mostly stabilized or slowed their climb.

The study ranks Wildwood at No. 30 in the U.S., with the typical home up 78% since 2018 at $531,400. The median Wildwood home value has increased by 5% in the last six months.

PBJ says that neighboring towns have also benefited from this pricing surge.

Brigantine has seen an 85% rise in home values over the last five years, coming in 38th on the national list of hot markets, according to this analysis.

Cape May City home prices are up 73% since 2018 to a median average of $607,800, with a 5% bump in prices in the past six months.

The only reason Stone Harbor and Avalon aren't included in the data about the Shore's real estate price frenzy is that they didn't meet the minimum 5000 people year-round population criterion.

PBJ talked with South Jersey real estate agents who say most of the buyers for these Shore properties are cash buyers who aren't impacted by high mortgage rates.

A big contributor to these median home price spikes is the amount of new construction of very large homes along the coast over the last couple of years.

South Jersey realtors say the only downside to the surging Shore market is low inventory.

The national hottest 30 zip code price list is led by Palm Springs, FL, and Vail, CO.