Ironside Shore Wire

Ocean City builders are concentrating on the multimillion-dollar middle of the Shore’s high-end market.

An Ironside Shore Wire review found 70 active Ocean City properties advertised as new construction.

More than half fall within one distinct price band.

Thirty-six listings — 51.4% of the total — carry asking prices between $2 million and $4 million.

Another 18 are listed below $2 million. Sixteen exceed $4 million.

The distribution gives Ocean City’s new-construction market a clear center of gravity.

Fresh inventory stretches from attached residences below $2 million to newly built bayfront estates carrying eight-figure asking prices.

But most of the market sits between those poles.

Builders are producing more homes in the $2 million-to-$4 million range than in the lower and upper tiers combined.

That price band carries added significance along the South Jersey Shore.

A recent Ironside analysis found that Sea Isle City has developed a premium sweet spot of its own.

Entering the final week of July, Sea Isle had recorded 98 residential sales. Just six closed above $3 million, four topped $3.5 million and only one exceeded $4 million.

The comparison draws from different metrics, but the overlap reveals something about where Shore buyers and builders see value — especially as new construction accounts for a significant share of Ocean City’s premium market.

Builders are clearly targeting luxury buyers. New bayfront homes on Bay Road and Glenwood Drive each carry asking prices above $10 million.

But with 36 new-construction listings positioned between $2 million and $4 million, builders are placing their biggest bet on the premium position.

Methodology

Ironside Shore Wire reviewed 70 active Ocean City listings identified by Zillow as new construction on July 28. Listings were manually checked and grouped into three asking-price ranges: below $2 million, $2 million through $4 million, and above $4 million. The analysis counts individual properties offered for sale, including separately listed condominium and duplex units.