Study Finds A Hefty Drop In Barnegat Home Values Over Past Five Years

If you own a home in Barnegat Township, your house is worth less that it was according to a report that examined U.S. Census data.

NJ Spotlight looked at Census data for New Jersey and found that home values remain significantly lower than they were five years ago for nearly every town in the state.

The median decline was about 11 percent. But in Barnegat, the decline was 13.81 percent, according to the 2015 American Community Survey data released on Thursday, the report said. The American Community Survey is conducted by the Census Bureau halfway between each census.

The typical home in the state was valued at almost $316,000 when averaged over the 2011-2015 period. Barnegat's median home value was $245,800.

NJ Spotlight noted the median values are skewed by valuations before and after the Great Recession and that towns that were hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy. Bayfront and oceanfront homes in Southern Ocean County — Berkeley, Barnegat, Stafford, Ocean and Long Beach Island — were affected because some homes are still being rebuilt and are not back on the property tax rolls, while others were abandoned.

Image: Patch file photo