Real estate experts say there's still time to find a Jersey Shore rental
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- With Memorial Day Weekend just a week away, real estate experts said there's still time to rent out shore houses.
Maria Kirk, who owns ShoreSummerRentals.com, said last year, their total bookings for the summer stood at 95%, but this year, she expects their total bookings to be at 90%.
"It's not crazy slow, but it's not what people are used to," Kirk said.
Kirk said more people are choosing to travel further away for the summer.
"They're traveling to the Outer Banks or they're traveling to Mexico or Aruba," Kirk said. "They've been stuck here, not even in New Jersey, but stuck home for three years, so they're ready to go and live again."
She said Avalon, Stone Harbor and Brigantine are some of the places that still have a lot of homes available to rent.
Though Ocean City-based real estate agent Doug Grisbaum said if people are still looking for last-minute rentals, they shouldn't wait too long.
"We're seeing a pretty good size push the last week or so, maybe because we're getting closer to Memorial Day Weekend," Grisbaum said. "If you haven't booked something, I would secure something relatively soon."
Maryann Nunes is one of the luckier homeowners because her North Wildwood home was fully booked by October 2022.
"We felt bad because a lot of our renters who rented in the first season wanted to come back the second season, and they got to us too late," Nunes said. "We were already booked. We had to turn them down."
Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection gave North Wildwood last-minute approval to fix some of the beach's public access points and grade out scarping on some of the dunes.
According to Mayor Patrick Rosenello, crews will repair the public access points between 13th and 15th Avenues.
He said the winter storm season took its toll on the city's dunes and created dangerous conditions in some parts.
"This is a critical public safety issue, and we're going to address it, and it will be fixed by Memorial Day Weekend," Mayor Rosenello said. "It's very unfortunate that it had to happen so late, and we have to rush to get it done, but again, we're going to do what is necessary to make sure there is no safety hazards for the public."
He estimated about 100,000 people will visit North Wildwood during Memorial Day Weekend.
"It's an exciting time, looking forward to inviting people back here, getting our beaches open, seeing all the businesses opened, and thriving," Mayor Rosenello said. "It's just a great time to be the mayor of a Jersey Shore community."
Marcus Wright's family chose to avoid the crowds by visiting North Wildwood a week before Memorial Day Weekend.
"As you can see, we've got a ton of kids. They don't like to sit for too long," Wright said. "It's very important that we get here before all the traffic and the real party begins."
