Something shifts right around this week every year. The college kids head back, families from states that start school in August have already packed up, and you feel it everywhere.

The beaches thin out, parking gets easier, and the Boulevard starts moving again. Meanwhile, the water is about as warm as it gets all year. It's one of the nicest stretches of summer on the island. Warm water, great weather, and a fraction of the crowds. It's always been one of my favorite times to be here.

Just from being out and about this week, the restaurants were noticeably quieter too. So if you have a list of places you've been meaning to get to all summer, now through Labor Day is your window. You have three weekends left, and a few of the island's best will close shortly after that and won't reopen until next May.

Bohdy's has quickly become one of my go-to spots for a smoothie. Everything is made with fresh ingredients, and they keep it simple without any of the artificial stuff.

The Amethyst has been my favorite so far. Strawberry, blueberry, banana, honey, and coconut yogurt. Definitely the one I'd recommend trying first.

I've had this on my list all summer, but every time I tried to go, the wait was over an hour. With the island a little more cleared out this week, I finally got in without a crazy wait.

I've been eating the Calamari Vera Cruz there since I was a kid, and I really think it's one of the best dishes on the island. This time, I got the calamari sauteed instead of fried, which made it feel like a lighter version of the dish and really let the broth and all the flavors shine. I might actually like it even more this way. The swordfish was great too.

We sat inside this time, which is a completely different experience from eating outside and honestly pretty nostalgic. It feels like nothing in there has changed. The only difference now is they take credit cards, and the handwritten checks are finally a thing of the past.

Beau

Every week we run the same numbers so you can follow what's happening in the LBI market in real time. Here's everything that came through as of August 19.

One home went under contract this week, a $4,999,000 new build in Long Beach Township that had been on the market since early December. It is the highest-priced contract on the island in three weeks.

Three closings, and the one at the top is the story. 1082B Long Beach Blvd sold for $3,475,000 against a $2,999,000 ask, which is $476,000 over, and it went under contract in five days. Only 30 of the 202 homes sold on the island this year have closed above their original asking price.

The vs List column is worth reading closely, because it tells a different story than the original asking price does. 29 Amherst actually sold 3.5% above its list price. It just needed a $600,000 reduction and 251 days to get to a list price buyers agreed with. Against its original November ask it finished 14% down.

That is the difference between the two numbers. Against the original ask, one of these three looks like a win. Against the price each home was actually carrying at the end, two of the three met or beat it.

1082B Long Beach Blvd · Listed at $2,999,000 · Closed at $3,475,000 in five days

Here is something about MLS data that most people never see, and it is worth understanding if you follow these numbers week to week.

When a home goes under contract or closes, the listing agent has to go into Bright MLS and change the status. The system lets them enter the date it actually happened, not the date they are sitting there typing. So an agent can log a July 23 contract on August 17 and the record will correctly read July 23.

That is the right way for it to work. The dates stay accurate. But it means a week you already looked at can keep filling in behind you. Everything below was missing when we pulled our numbers on August 13 and had appeared by the time we pulled again on the 19th.

Most were entered within a week. A few took a lot longer. 18 W 7th St went under contract on July 23 and did not show up in the data for roughly three and a half weeks. 20 E South 33rd St took about three weeks.

So rather than quietly restate last week's totals or let these disappear, we list them here in the week they surfaced. They are not counted in the two tables above, and the date column shows when each one actually happened.

Two of these are worth flagging. 62 Maiden Ln closed $160,000 over its list price after six days, never having taken a reduction, so this stretch actually produced two homes selling above ask. And 188 Nautilus Dr at $4.4 million was the largest sale on the island in this window, though it took a $504,000 cut off its original $4,999,000 to get there.

The tables above show everything reported this week. The comparison below uses strict calendar dates on both sides so the two years line up properly.

The 2025 column has had a full year to settle while the 2026 column is six days old, so the first two rows will narrow as the rest of this week gets reported. The bottom row is the one that holds up. Active inventory is down 21 homes from this point last year, and that is the backdrop for everything else.

As always, one week is a pretty small sample. The year-to-date numbers give us a much better picture of where the market is actually heading.

The story this year still hasn't changed: fewer sales, higher prices, and less to choose from.

Closed sales are down 18% from last year, while the average sale price is up 12% and the median is now over $2 million. Homes are also selling 14 days faster, with 21 fewer homes on the market than at this point in 2025.

That combination tells most of the story. With less inventory and homes moving faster, pricing correctly from the start matters as much as ever.

This week gave us a pretty remarkable example at both ends. 1082B Long Beach Blvd came to market underpriced, went under contract in just five days, and ultimately closed $476,000 over asking. Meanwhile, 29 Amherst started high, needed a $600,000 price reduction, and took 251 days to find a buyer.

As always, if you have questions about a specific property, what your home may be worth, or what we're seeing in a certain part of the island, reach out anytime.

Drew