Asbury Park property values jump 20 percent

ASBURY PARK - In another sign of the hot ticket the Asbury Park real estate market has become, property values climbed 20 percent in the preliminary assessments for the 2018 tax year.

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The projected 2018 net taxable property value climbed to $1.64 billion, up from $1.37 billion in 2017. By comparison, in 2014 the net taxable property valuation was about $1.18 billion.

Real estate professionals and city officials said the property value growth was a reflection of the growing popularity of the city, which was named the "Coolest Small Town in America" by Budget Travel magazine earlier this year. To get a glimpse on how the city has changed over the years, watch the video above.

By comparison, over the same period, Colts Neck property values rose by 1.1 percent, Neptune jumped by 8.8 percent, and Long Branch increased by 3.8 percent, according to data supplied by the Monmouth County Tax Assessor Office.

"The condo market is definitely a hot commodity – on the east side anything close to the beach is in demand," said Rob White, past president of Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors.

"Investors are buying the properties, rehabbing them and bringing them back to market at a higher price, I think that is contributing to the increase in home prices across the market," White said. "We are seeing that when things do come to the market price at fair market value, they’re here today, gone tomorrow."

Mayor John Moor said its still too early to see how the new assessments will affect the tax rate, which will be determined by the total tax levy next year.

For 2017, the total tax levy for Asbury Park was about $28 million, resulting in a tax rate of about $2.08 for every $100 of assessed value.

"If your assessment has increased less than the baseline (less than 20 percent), you will pay a lesser proportionate share of the city’s tax levy in 2018," city assessor Erick Aguiar said in a letter sent to property owners. "Due to the 2018 reassessment, roughly 64 percent of the city's properties will be responsible for a lesser apportionment of the levy next year," Aguiar wrote.

iStar, the city's master developer for its waterfront, will see a particularly large increase in taxable property values, from $55 million in 2017 to $92 million in 2018.

One of the iStar's properties that increased the most was the 1101 Ocean Ave. site, a 128-apartment-unit, high-rise building and 54-room boutique hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2019. The assessment on that property jumped from $5 million in 2017 to more than $15 million in the 2018 assessment.

"There is no doubt that progress is being made across the entire city. The increase in our property assessment at 1101 Ocean is a reflection of our shift from raw land to improved property, and a clear indication of iStar’s continued investment in the waterfront," said Brian Cheripka, senior vice president of land and development for iStar.

"From a property tax standpoint, Asbury Park remains a very attractive alternative to many communities throughout the region."

Tracy Rogers, 50, a member of the AP Affordable Housing Coalition, said while he welcomes the jump in property values, the city needed to do more to offer low-cost housing. Rogers said the housing coalition will propose a housing ordinance in the new few weeks that would require the city to include affordable housing in any new construction projects.

"It just says it really looks as if Asbury Park is becoming a place to be for rich and the elite," Rogers said. "We have to make sure we have a diversified community, we have to look at the people that have been there that have been participating in the growth of the city."

Austin Bogues: 732-643-4009; @AustinBogues; abogues@gannettnj.com