LBI Oceanfront Home Guide
Overview
Exclusive Buyer’s Agents · Long Beach IslandOceanfront Homes Stats 2025 ⸺
Number of Sales
31
$4,728,758
Average Days to Sale
101
average price per sqft
$1,397
$4,650,000
Average Close to Original Price Ratio
96%
Pricing ⸺
Most LBI beachfront properties are single-family homes, with pricing typically starting around $2,500,000. Luxury oceanfront homes on LBI generally range from $4,000,000 to $10,000,000+, depending on location, size, and level of new construction or design.
Oceanfront condo options remain limited, but on occasion one will come to market. These typically range from approximately $600,000 for an entry-level one-bedroom to $1,000,000+ for select two- to three-bedroom residences, offering a more accessible path to direct beachfront ownership when available.
Inventory ⸺
There are 966 oceanfront properties on Long Beach Island — and at any given moment, only a fraction are ever for sale. Buyers entering this market should expect to find between 10 and 25 active listings at a time, often less.
From 2015 through mid-2020, the segment held a relative equilibrium. An average of 72 homes were available at any point, with roughly 115 new listings entering the market each year and 55 closings. It was active, but measured.
That changed almost overnight. The COVID-era buying surge compressed years of demand into a matter of months. By the end of 2020, available inventory had fallen to just 47 homes — a warning sign of what was ahead.
Between 2021 and 2024, the market tightened to levels rarely seen before. Average availability dropped to 27 homes, with 53 listings per year and 40 annual sales. Turnover slowed, prices held firm, and sellers had little urgency to move. The oceanfront tier had effectively become a closed market.
2025 offered no relief. Just 52 oceanfront homes were listed across the entire year, with 31 sales recorded — underscoring how far supply has fallen from historical norms and how competitive conditions remain for serious buyers.
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LBI Oceanfront Sold Homes
There are no publicly available listings at the moment. Contact us about available properties in this area.
ContactLot Sizes ⸺
Across most of Long Beach Island, oceanfront lots follow a standard size of 50 x 100 feet — meaning 50 feet of ocean frontage and 100 feet of depth. Within that norm, you’ll also find variation: smaller 40-foot wide lots on the modest end, and oversized lots with 60 to 100+ feet of frontage for buyers seeking something more expansive.
The north end of the island operates by different rules. Both Loveladies and North Beach carry a standard lot size of 100 x 100 feet — double the frontage of most LBI towns — which is a primary reason these communities consistently rank among the most expensive and desirable properties on the island.
This matters because ocean frontage is the single most important factor in determining an oceanfront property’s value. More frontage means more presence on the beach, greater architectural flexibility, and a meaningfully higher price. When comparing oceanfront homes, the lot dimensions are often just as telling as the home itself.
New Construction or Renovating ⸺
Building or expanding an oceanfront home on LBI involves more than satisfying local zoning requirements. Any new construction footprint or significant improvement must also be reviewed and approved by CAFRA — the Coastal Area Facility Review Act — a New Jersey state agency that governs development along all beachfront and bayfront properties on the island.
There are limited exceptions. Homeowners may qualify for a permit by rule or avoid full CAFRA review by working within an existing approved footprint — but both paths have conditions, and neither should be assumed without verification.
For buyers evaluating a teardown, this is arguably the most important due diligence item on the list. The CAFRA-approved footprint determines how large a new home can be built — and that allowable size is the single greatest driver of land value on the oceanfront. Two adjacent lots with identical dimensions can carry vastly different price tags depending on what CAFRA has already approved for each.
Insurance ⸺
Insurance is one of the largest annual expenses an oceanfront homeowner on LBI will face — and it’s one that catches many buyers off guard. The majority of beachfront properties sit within a VE flood zone, the highest-risk coastal designation, where flood insurance premiums typically range from $200 to $800 per month depending on the property.
Several factors drive that range. Land elevation and base flood elevation (BFE) — the height of the lowest living floor relative to the minimum required building height — are among the most significant. Even small differences in elevation between two otherwise comparable homes can produce meaningfully different insurance costs, sometimes by hundreds of dollars per month.
For buyers, this means flood insurance shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be evaluated early, ideally before making an offer. On a beachfront property, the premium isn’t just a line item — it’s a material part of the true cost of ownership.
Some of the most desirable oceanfront homes on Long Beach Island never appear on a public listing site. No Zillow alert. No MLS notification. They trade quietly — through local networks, direct outreach, and relationships built over years of working this market. For buyers relying solely on what’s publicly available, these properties simply don’t exist.
Working with The Guarino Team means access to that other market. We maintain an active network of off-market opportunities across LBI — and when something becomes available that matches what you’re looking for, you’ll hear about it before anyone else does.
If you’re serious about buying on Long Beach Island, don’t limit your search to what’s listed. Call or text us at 609-467-4061 to find out what’s currently available off-market.
The Guarino Team
The Island's Fastest Growing Real Estate Team
We're not just here to open doors — we're here to make sure you walk through the right one.
We don't just know the Long Beach Island market — we live in it, invest in it, and study it every day. LBI is a uniquely complex market, spanning 18 miles of barrier island with dozens of distinct micro-markets, wide price variation, and dynamics that simply don't follow the rules of a typical real estate market. Navigating it well requires more than a license — it requires deep, ground-level knowledge that only comes from years of focused experience.
With backgrounds in finance and analytics, our valuation and ROI tools go well beyond what most agents offer — giving buyers the clarity to move decisively and the data to negotiate from a position of real strength. Knowing exactly what a property is worth, not just what it's listed for, is one of the most powerful advantages we bring to every transaction.
From off-market access to strategic offer structures, we're with you at every step — whether you're ready to buy today or laying the groundwork for a purchase years down the road. We take pride in never rushing the process, and we stay committed until we find exactly the right fit.
Ready to Begin Your LBI Journey?
It's never too early to reach out. The more time we have to understand what you're looking for, the better positioned you'll be when the right oceanfront property comes along. Contact us today and let's start your Long Beach Island home buying journey together.
