Toms River has always had a lot going for it. It’s the county seat of Ocean County, it’s a Shore community and it offers a wide variety of housing, from traditional single-family neighborhoods to condos and some of the area’s largest adult communities.

And being at the Jersey Shore is a big part of the attraction. You’re close to the beaches, the bay and everything that comes with living near the Shore, while still having the shopping, services and year-round amenities.

That also makes the Toms River NJ housing market interesting to follow because there really isn’t one type of Toms River buyer or one type of Toms River home.

The numbers tell an interesting story.

Right now, there are more homes for sale than there were a year ago. Homes are taking longer to sell, and more sellers are having to make price reductions.

At the same time, buyers are still buying, and home prices remain strong.

So what’s going on?

The market is changing, but that doesn’t mean it has suddenly become a buyer’s market. Buyers have more choices, sellers have more competition, and that’s making price, condition and presentation much more important than they were when inventory was tighter.

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

More Homes for Sale in Toms River NJ

One of the biggest changes we’re seeing is inventory.

According to Altos Research, there were 622 active listings in Toms River in August, compared with 474 in August of last year. That’s an increase of about 31%.

Months of inventory also increased from 2.6 months last August to 2.8 months this August.

For the past several years, one of the biggest challenges for buyers has simply been finding enough homes to choose from. That’s starting to change.

More inventory gives buyers more options. It also means sellers have more competition.

But 2.8 months of inventory is still low. Buyers have more choices than they did a year ago, but inventory is still relatively tight.

Homes Are Taking Longer to Sell

This may be the number that caught my attention the most.

Altos reported a median of 63 days on market in August, compared with just 35 days in August 2025.

That’s a significant change.

We’re seeing another sign of that change, in price reductions. There were 210 homes with price reductions in August, compared with 141 a year ago.

That doesn’t mean homes aren’t selling. They are.

What it does mean is that buyers can afford to be a little more selective.

When buyers have several homes to choose from, they’re going to make comparisons. They’re looking at price, condition, location, taxes, updates and what they’re getting for their money.

And in a community as diverse as Toms River, those comparisons can vary quite a bit depending on what and where you’re buying. A single-family home in a residential neighborhood isn’t necessarily competing for the same buyer as a condo or a home in an adult community.

That’s why looking at one number for the town doesn’t tell the whole story.

Toms River Home Prices Remain Strong

This is where the market gets very interesting.

More inventory and longer times on market haven’t translated into falling home prices.

The median sale price for a single-family home in Toms River was $630,000 in August, up from $589,500 in August 2025. That’s an increase of about 6%!

There were also 83 single-family homes sold in August, compared with 80 during the same month last year.

And if you look at Toms River as a single market, the median sold price was $435,000 in August.

That’s a pretty big difference, but it shows why looking at one number for Toms River doesn’t tell the whole story.

Toms River has a wide variety of housing at very different price points. The $630,000 figure is specifically for single-family homes, while the $435,000 figure includes the broader residential market, including condos and homes in adult communities.

So if you’re trying to figure out what your home is worth, the town-wide median really isn’t the number that matters. What matters is what comparable homes in your part of the Toms River market are actually selling for.

The Asking Price Still Matters

There’s another number in the data that is worth talking about.

Single-family homes that closed in August sold at 101% of their listing price, compared with 99% a year ago.

At first glance, that might seem odd.

How can there be more price reductions and longer market times while some homes are still selling above asking price?

Because we’re not necessarily talking about the same homes.

A home that’s priced correctly, shows well and compares favorably with the competition can still attract strong interest.

Another home may be priced too high, sit on the market and eventually need a price reduction before buyers respond.

I’ve talked about this before in Wayne Explains the Market: your home isn’t competing against the housing market in general. It’s competing against the other homes a buyer can purchase in the same price range.

And today, buyers have more of those homes to compare.

Fewer New Listings Came on the Market in August

There’s one more number worth watching.

Only 195 new listings came on the market in August, compared with 273 in August 2025.

Pending listings were also slightly lower than they were a year ago.

That’s why I wouldn’t look at the increase in inventory and automatically assume we’re headed toward a flood of homes for sale.

Inventory has increased, but fewer new listings came onto the market in August. I’ll be watching this over the next few months to see whether the increase continues or begins to level off.

What This Means if You’re Buying a Home in Toms River

If you’re buying a home in Toms River NJ, you have something you haven’t had much of in recent years: more choices and a little more breathing room.

And that’s important.

People are attracted to Toms River for different reasons. Some want to be near the water and the beaches. Others are looking for a year-round family home. Some are downsizing, while others are specifically looking at one of the area’s adult communities.

Having more inventory gives buyers a better opportunity to compare their choices.

Now, that doesn’t mean every seller will be willing to negotiate, or that you can automatically make a low offer and expect it to get accepted. But the MLS numbers show that Toms River homes are still attracting plenty of interest.

The key is understanding the individual property rather than assuming every home should be treated the same way.

What This Means if You’re Selling a Home in Toms River

If you’re selling a home in Toms River NJ, there are still some encouraging numbers here.

Homes are selling, and sale prices remain strong.

But sellers have more competition than they did a year ago.

That means pricing and preparation matter more.

Buyers will notice when another home offers better value. And with substantially more price reductions than we saw last August, we’re seeing what can happen when the market doesn’t agree with the original asking price.

Getting the price and presentation right when the home first hits the market is becoming increasingly more important.

Wayne’s Bottom Line

There’s no single number that tells the whole story of the Toms River NJ real estate market.

Inventory is up. Homes are taking longer to sell. Price reductions are more common.

At the same time, buyers are still buying, and single-family home prices were higher this August than they were a year ago.

And we can’t forget that Toms River is a Shore town. For a lot of buyers, being close to the beaches and the bay is a big part of why they want to live here in the first place.

So even though buyers have more homes to choose from than they did a year ago, Toms River is still a very desirable place to live.

What has changed is that buyers can be more selective, and sellers have to pay more attention to how their home compares with the competition.

For buyers, that means more choices and, in some cases, more room to negotiate. For sellers, it means pricing your home correctly from the beginning and making sure it shows well against the competition.

That’s the Toms River market right now. Homes are still selling and prices remain strong, but buyers have more choices than they did a year ago.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Toms River and you’d like to know what these numbers mean for your particular situation, give me a call. I’m always happy to talk about the market and help you make sense of your options.

And if you’re not quite ready for that conversation, I have free Buyer and Seller Guides that can help you get started. They walk you through the process, answer some of the most common questions and give you a better idea of what to expect.

Until next time, I’m Wayne Zuhl, and I help neighbors find their place in the universe.

Next Week in Wayne Explains the Market

The Biggest Pricing Mistakes Sellers Make

Pricing a home isn’t as simple as looking at what the neighbor’s house sold for and adding a little extra “just to see what happens.”

Next week, I’ll look at some of the most common pricing mistakes sellers make, why they can cost you valuable time when your home first hits the market, and how buyers actually react when a home is overpriced.