Monday, March 23, 2026

The difference in dollars between my home State and my new State is scary...

What does $400,000 buys you at the Jersey Shore? 
I know that to most people in the rest of the country $400,000 is a significant amount of money. It absolutely is. But in New Jersey, and especially at the Jersey Shore, it barely starts the conversation about what you can afford. 
In Avalon, Stone Harbor, Spring Lake or Mantoloking, $400,000 does not buy you a home. The median home value in those towns runs well north of a million dollars, with Avalon and Stone Harbor pushing two million and beyond. Even in Ocean City and Cape May you are approaching that million dollar threshold before you get anywhere near the water.
Where does $400,000 actually work at the Shore? Wildwood, North Wildwood, Keansburg, parts of Seaside Park. You are looking at a modest home or a condo, nothing waterfront, limited square footage. You are buying the zip code, not the space.
 
Meanwhile, what does $400,000 buy you in Florida? 
In the Gulf Coast communities where most of my friends have landed - around Venice, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Naples - $400,000 in 2026 buys you a brand new construction home. Three or four bedrooms, two car garage, community pool, resort style amenities, walking trails. 
Some builders are currently offering $20,000 to $50,000 in upgrade incentives just to get deals closed. The beach is ten to fifteen minutes away by car. In Florida's more affordable beach markets like Fort Pierce or Panama City Beach, $400,000 can put you directly on or adjacent to the water. Pretty much anywhere here in Florida is it ever more than a 90 minute ride to a beach. That's why we live here. Better value and more choices. That's two-for-two in my book.
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Thanks to NJ101.5.com for the info.



5 comments:

  1. $400k in Cal buys you a 60 year old tract house in a bad neighborhood.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No matter who you vote for you always end up worse. But Florida is trying to make things better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. While in the Service, troops did whatever they could to get on the Tyndall AFB deployments.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Please stop informing the world about the benefits of Florida living. Many of the wrong people are getting the message and we already have more than enough transplanted libtards, Karens and other democrats.
    C onsider just passing it on by word-of-mouth to the right people - those who would make good neighbors..
    It's better to inform the world at large about the flying cockroaches the size of baby rats and the aligators that will bite off an arm or leg and eat their kids and pets. Then there's the six species of venomous killer snakes. And don't forget about the 20 foot long, 200 pound Burmese pythons that can crush a deer, a man a St Bernard or an alligator to death.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You overlook the bargains in Atlantic City! Three blocks inland from the Casinos and you will find affordable housing. However, you won't be able to purchase Life Insurance, and your Car Insurance will be quite pricey, if available.

    ReplyDelete

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