Coming off the second Memorial Day weekend since Superstorm Sandy, realtors and experts are offering a glimpse into the status of the Jersey Shore rental market.

shore house in Lavallette
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The stories are different, depending on where they're told.

It was quite the challenge last summer to get shore visitors into rental properties, less than a year after Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, but according to Peter Reinhart, director of the Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University, this summer should be very different.

"People that traditionally came to the shore will want to come again, and they received enough good information that the shore is back," Reinhart said. "The rentals are picking up at a pretty normal rate compared to before-Sandy seasons."

In Long Beach Island, Mary Allen Realty cited a nearly 30 percent jump in leases and gross rental dollars so far, compared to last year. In fact, income right now is 4 percent above the summer of 2012, before Sandy hit.

Not everywhere, though, has a booming rental market. In Lavallette, business is better than last year, but it still lags substantially behind pre-Sandy numbers, according to Andrea Schlosser of Schlosser Real Estate.

She noted millions and millions of dollars are going into reinforcing the barrier island's infrastructure, including Route 35, but to potential renters, all the work may be seen as an inconvenience on their summer getaways.

"I think people are concerned they're going to rent and somebody's going to be hammering next door," Schlosser said.

The state recently announced it would stop all Route 35 construction work during the summer months.

Schlosser predicted a strong comeback for the area's rental market in the next two years.

"If not next summer, certainly the one after," she said.

According to Reinhart, rentals at the Jersey shore can pick up for good, everywhere, as long as the people who move in have a positive experience and one that's similar to what they remember from before the storm.

 

 

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