Shore sees slump-free '08 season
By Jacqueline L. Urgo
Inquirer Staff Writer
The economy is sickly and gasoline costs 50 cents more per gallon than when beach season ended in September. But at the Jersey Shore, the summer-rental business is showing no signs of trauma.
Real estate agents in Avalon and Ocean City, in Cape May County, report 10 to 15 percent more bookings than last year at this time.
Recession anxiety, suggest some brokers and their customers, could actually drive vacationers to the Shore this summer.
"We've been having a great year here," said Bill Godfrey of the Marr Agency in Ocean City. "I think that high gas prices actually work in favor of the Jersey Shore because people want to stick closer to home."
Life's been a walk on the beach for agents in Sea Isle City, too.
"It could shape up to be another banner year," said Matt Iannone of the Freda Real Estate Agency, in the Cape May County town. "We're seeing the numbers continue to trend up."
George Roma, an agent with Mancini Realty in Beach Haven Park, said that rentals were also moving quickly on Long Beach Island in Ocean County.
Though he couldn't quantify the increase over 2007, Roma said there had been "tremendous" repeat business and many newcomers at the agency, where 80 percent of clients are from North Jersey or New York.
"I've had people telling me that they've tried other places for a few years, but that they're coming back to Long Beach Island because of gas prices," Roma said. "People don't want to spend all that time and money driving down to North Carolina or out to the Hamptons."
After boom times in the early 2000s, the Jersey Shore slumped in 2005, when rentals were still plentiful in late July and early August.
Up and down the coast, real estate agents and business owners were stricken. To keep one bad season from becoming a trend, many say they worked with local chambers of commerce to launch marketing campaigns aimed at attracting first-time visitors and wooing veterans who had defected to out-of-state beaches and resorts such as Disney World.
Rentals in 2006 rebounded by 20 percent in towns including Ocean City, Brigantine and Beach Haven, according to state tourism officials. And they grew an additional 10 percent last summer.
This winter, financial hard times appear not to have deterred many who like to make their vacation plans early.
Most rents are on a par with 2007, report agents in the region. A week at peak season ranges from $1,000 for a two-bedroom unit a few blocks from the beach to $5,000 or $6,000 for a four- or five-bedroom oceanfront unit. More expensive properties usually go first, followed by mid-range stock, agents say.
The Marr agency lists a six-bedroom house on the water in Ocean City for $12,000 a week. "That house is totally booked," Godfrey said.
Atlantic County has about 12,000 available seasonal rentals, followed by Ocean County with 8,500 and Cape May County with 7,200, according to county Boards of Realtors.
Though he has seen lots of his regulars - folks who rent the same place at the same time every summer - Iannone, of Sea Isle City, said that many others were looking over the 1,000 or so properties his agency represents.
"You have new people who may not want to go to Europe this summer because of the weak dollar. Or you have Canadians coming here because their dollar can go further," he said.
In Ocean City, where nearly 3,500 properties make for the heaviest concentration of summer rentals at the Shore, the mad rush to find the ideal spot is in full swing.
"We always try to book early so we can get the exact perfect house that we want," said Cindy Romano, 47, of Quakertown. She and her husband, Frank, spent a recent winter's day at Berger Realty in Ocean City poring over hundreds of listings.
Like many who make the off-season pilgrimage, the Romanos had envisioned their dream cottage before they even crossed the bridge.
Price didn't matter as long as it had at least three bedrooms and two baths and was within walking distance of the beach, said Frank Romano.
For his wife, prerequisites included a big kitchen and a huge table so their extended family can enjoy the crab feast the Romanos will host. A little yard and an outdoor shower were musts. And, of course, air-conditioning.
But up in Brigantine, Atlantic County, Frank Pohalski of Medford was shopping for a "bargain duplex" to house about a dozen members of his extended family for three weeks. For the last two summers, he said, they opted to meet in North Carolina.
"We all talked about going to the Outer Banks again this year, but nobody wanted to spend the money on gas," said Pohalski, 54. "The costs might be a little cheaper once you get to North Carolina, but the cost of getting there is now a significant factor."
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