From Art Hall, Publisher

It used to be that if you put your money into real estate, you could more or less count on selling the property at a profit down the road. That will probably still be true over time, if for no other reason than the Federal Reserve continues to inflate the currency to finance federal budget deficits. However, over the last eight years, the changes in property values for the communities here in Cape May County would not make a banker smile. Only one community, Cape May, managed not to decline.
The valuations below are from Cape May County’s Abstract of Ratables, comparing 2008 to 2016. George (Ray) Brown, Tax Administrator for our county, explained that his office keeps these valuations up-to-date for each community by comparing actual sales to the tax assessments, and adjusting the total for the community accordingly.
What does the future hold for seashore property? According to New Jersey Future’s Oct. 17, 2016 article on Population Trends at the Jersey Shore, “(A)verage residential values are much higher in the Atlantic oceanfront municipalities and have been increasing faster…” over the period 2000 to 2014. “In 2000, the median municipality in the Atlantic oceanfront subgroup already had an average residential value that was 44 percent higher than the average value in the median non-coastal municipality. And the Atlantic oceanfront subgroup has only widened the gap with the rest of the state since then: As of 2014, the median Atlantic oceanfront municipality now has an average residential value of $589,650, double the average value of $295,167 in the median non-coastal municipality. Residential properties were already more expensive in the Atlantic oceanfront municipalities than elsewhere in 2000, and they have gotten more expensive more quickly since then.”