Toms River Home Values Have Fallen Since 2010, Census Data Shows

TOMS RIVER, NJ — If you own a home in Toms River, the value of that property is not what it was five years ago, according to a report that examined U.S. Census data.

NJ Spotlight looked at Census data for the entire state and found that home values remain significantly lower than they were five years ago for nearly every town in the state.

The median decline was about 11 percent; in Toms River, the median decline was 13.84 percent, according to the 2015 American Community Survey data released on Thursday, the report said. The American Community Survey is conducted by the Census Bureau on a rolling basis throughout the decade. The data released Dec. 8 released pools the data collected in calendar years 2011-2015, Census officials said.

The typical home in the state was valued at almost $316,000 when averaged over the 2011-2015 period. That was 11.5 percent less than the 2006-2010 community survey estimate. In Toms River, the median home value was $283,900.

NJ Spotlight noted that towns that were hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy — including Toms River — are still seeing that affect home values because some homes are still being rebuilt while others were abandoned. The estimates also are skewed by valuations before and after the Great Recession, the report said. In Toms River, nearly $800 million in homes damaged or destroyed in Sandy still have not returned to the property tax rolls, township officials have said.

The impact of Sandy is evident when you look at other Ocean County towns. Brick Township home values were down 10.6 percent, but Point Pleasant Beach and Point Pleasant Borough — which flooded but suffered a smaller percentage of totally destroyed homes — were down just 3.04 and 5.28 percent, respectively.

Seaside Heights, which was heavily damaged, had a median decline of 18.62 percent with a median value of $281,100. Seaside Park, which fared better during Sandy, had a median decline of 4.79 percent and a median value of $663,200; the NJ Spotlight report notes 18 percent of Seaside Park's homes are valued at $1 million or more; none of the homes in Seaside Heights are valued at $1 million.

Nearby, the median Beachwood value was down 10 percent, to $242,100. Pine Beach had a decline of 10.42 percent, with a median value of $298,300, and South Toms River had a decline of 14.62 percent with a median value of $193,300.

The smallest decrease in home values was seen in Lakewood, which registered a 0,91 percent change, according to the NJ Spotlight analysis.

Manchester Township had the largest decline in home values, with a 21.78 percent fall in the value. The median home in the township is valued at $123,200, according to the Census figures. Manchester also has one of the smallest percentages in the county of homes worth $1 million or more, with 0.4 percent reaching that value.

Only two towns in Ocean County saw an iucrease in home values: Lavallette, with a 1.98 percent increase, and Harvey Cedars, with a 6.8 percent increase. Nearly half of the homes in Harvey Cedars are valued at $1 million or more, according to the Census figures.

The single-year estimates for New Jersey show a smaller drop — about 5 percent from 2010 to 2015, when the median home value was $322,000. The single-year estimates also show a slow but steady rise as New Jersey continues its economic recovery.

The American Community Survey data released Dec. 8 released pools the data collected in calendar years 2011-2015, Census officials said. Next December the bureau will release the pooled data from 2012-2016, officials said. The Census Bureau also produces single-year data using the survey for all towns with populations of 65,000 or more. That information is released each September.

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