The $25M sale that put a quiet East Coast beach town on the map

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

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A sleepy seaside community in New Jersey is getting attention after the biggest sale ever closed in the town, which is known for being the opposite of its rowdy Jersey Shore neighbors. Spring Lake, a picturesque beach town known by locals as the, 'Jewel of the Jersey Shore' saw the sale of a $25 million home in January 2025. Now locals say inquiring homebuyers want to know all about the town.
Prior to the sale, it was hard to sell a $12 to $13 million house in the town, Glander said. But there has been a ripple effect since the sale and property values across the tiny, two-square-mile town have skyrocketed. Wealthy buyers are now pricing out the families who have called Spring Lake home for generations, and upsetting locals who discovered the town long ago. The $25 million home features nine bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, a wraparound porch, guesthouse, saltwater pool, and a golf simulator. Folding glass door open to a massive east-facing terrace with seating, kitchen, and al fresco dining overlooking the pool, gardens and ocean.
The house was on the market for just four months before selling for the record-setting amount — a short timeline for such a massive price. Since the sale, homes that once lingered on the market have been snapped up in a matter of days. Offers close to $10 million are now common, and homes that used to sell for $1 to $2 million are now fetching $3 to $5 million, even if they're blocks away from the beach. 'Before COVID you could get something for around $1 million,' Glander told the Daily Mail.
In May 2025, the median list price in Spring Lake was $1,995,000. 'An entry-level price to buy a home here is now around $2 million,' she said. For many lifelong residents, the new pricing and the attention that's coming with it has become a nuisance. 'It's more like the Hamptons. We actually used to get a lot of buyers that would come from Manhattan and they'd come to Spring Lake because they didn't like the commute to the Hamptons,' said Glander.
From Manhattan you can be in Spring Lake in just over an hour, as opposed to the three-hour drive to the Hamptons. Spring Lake is not like its neighboring beach towns with their boardwalks filled with arcades and dive bars. 'They have a concession stand with food and snacks near the beach, but there's no rides, nothing like the other shore towns,' Glander said. 'That's why we discovered it. I didn't want arcades and games and you know — noise.'
Glander added that the homes are also a different style than the rest of the beach towns along the shore. 'It's really, really beautiful. Everyone keeps their homes and their landscaping meticulous. It's immaculately clean.' In addition to the Atlantic shoreline, there are two lakes in town, one on the north end and another one on the south end.
Due to strict zoning laws, there is still a small town feel. There are rarely new builds, and there are no big or tall buildings. The town has no traffic lights. 'Since the late 1800s until present the zoning has been kept very strict in town so that's why it is as beautiful as it is,' Glander added. 'With a lot of the beach towns if you had a 50-foot lot you could tear down a house and put four houses on it. You can't do that in Spring Lake.'
Glander first bought in Spring Lake in 1986, and says the charming town was virtually unknown. While the home prices are now sky-high, the taxes remain surprisingly low — a draw for wealthy buyers, especially retirees. 'If you have a house right around $4 million, the taxes are usually right around $10,000 a year,' she said.
'Compare that to the Hamptons, which is like four or five times that.' The town also offers a unique amenity for locals in the form of large private beach lockers at each end of the boardwalk, so no one has to lug around their beach supplies for the day. 'You can leave your beach chairs, your umbrella, your boogie board, and just ride your bike to the beach or walk,' Glander said.
Downtown Spring Lake is filled with upscale boutiques, well-maintained storefronts, and a new restaurant is being built inside a former 19th-century bank. Though the town is not dry, Glander says liquor licenses are scarce, and nightlife remains limited outside of a few nice dinner spot.