What's Going On On The Island

This past weekend Jetty Rock hosted their annual Arctic Outreach at Hollow Pines, raising money for the Jetty Rock Foundation. The foundation works to protect oceans and waterways while supporting the local people whose lives revolve around them — a mission that really resonates with the local community.

It was another great community event from Jetty, who always seems to find a way to mix a good time with a good cause. Their next big event — the always packed Hop Sauce Festival — returns to Beach Haven on June 13th and is one of the best events of the summer.

Speaking of Hollow Pines, we made our second trip there this past Sunday and really enjoyed it again. If you haven’t checked it out yet, definitely add it to the list. The atmosphere is completely different than anything else in the area, the cocktails are as good as you will find in the area, and the food mixes some classic Tide Table staples with a few piney-inspired twists. It’s a nice change of pace from the typical island scene.

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, a few spots are getting into the spirit. Nardi’s is throwing their annual party on March 17th with live music, drink specials, and the Nardi’s bus running from 4pm throughout the night.

And if you’re really trying to lean into the St. Paddy’s Day vibe, check out the Lucky Lounge at The Mainland, which is fully decked out with St. Patrick’s Day decor and festivities.

Beau

What's Going On In Real Estate

The Long Beach Island market is finally starting to see a meaningful increase in inventory. After sitting at record-low levels throughout January and February, active listings have now climbed above the 100 mark. As of March 10th, there are 105 homes currently on the market, following a steady influx of new listings over the past two weeks.

That surge has quickly brought inventory closer to where we were this time last year. On this date in 2025, there were 112 homes for sale — meaning we are now just seven homes behind last year's pace, a notable shift after the unusually tight start to 2026.

With more homes hitting the market, average days on market has dropped to 85 days — which, believe it or not, is the exact same number we saw at this time last year. For reference, inventory continued building through the spring in 2025 before peaking at 147 listings on May 10th. Whether we see numbers climb that high again will depend largely on how serious sellers are about pricing, as several of the new listings that have come on recently appear to be substantially overpriced.

On the demand side, activity has remained relatively quiet. Only three homes went under contract last week, two of which were located in Holgate, bringing the total number of active listings in Holgate to six.

More broadly, the number of homes going under contract continues to lag behind last year. There have been just 45 homes contracted so far in 2026, compared to 85 at this same point in 2025. There's little doubt the difficult winter weather played a role in slowing activity, but the bigger question is how much demand will rebound as we move deeper into the spring market. With one-third of March already behind us and only five homes going under contract so far this month, it remains to be seen whether we will see as big of a surge as expected from pent-up demand.

One other notable shift: the average listing price has dropped below $3 million for the first time in four months. That number is largely influenced by the types of homes currently on the market, but it could also signal that we're beginning to see a bit of resistance from buyers after several years of rapid price growth.

As always, the coming weeks will give us a much clearer picture of how the spring market on LBI will take shape.

Drew