Living in the boss's guest house? Jersey Shore workers struggle to find middle-class homes
Michael L. Diamond, Asbury Park Press
Updated 8 min read
Richard Naughton moved from his home country of England to New Jersey recently to work as a chef for the renowned restaurateur David Burke in a job that he says has lived up to the hype. He can't imagine doing anything else.
But he's run into an obstacle. As he searches for an apartment close enough to Burke's restaurants in Union Beach and Rumson and big enough for himself, his fiancée and a dog, he is coming up empty.
"Since it's not (in) a big city, I thought it would be a little more affordable," Naughton, 36, said. "But everywhere, the housing prices are going up and up. For someone who is a first-time renter in the area, it's incredibly difficult to find somewhere, in my price range especially."
Naughton is among the growing legion of workers who are getting priced out of the Jersey Shore's housing market, causing headaches not only for workers such as nurses, teachers and chefs who are hoping to find a home relatively close to where they work, but also for employers needing to hire them.
Richard Naughton has recently moved to the United States from England. He is working as a chef at The Goat, a restaurant owned by David Burke. Naughton is currently searching for housing in the area at an affordable price. Union Beach, NJ Thursday, January 11, 2024
The trend has prompted New Jersey for the first time to treat "affordable housing" not only as a burden for low-income residents, but also for moderate-income residents. The Murphy administration is launching a program to provide subsidies to developers who promise to set aside apartment units for the middle class.
The project would represent just a fraction of the new housing underway. But policymakers say it is a sign that they need to intervene in a market that is at risk of becoming out of reach to all but the wealthy.
"When people can't live in your community who serve your community (like) a teacher, they're not going to be as invested in your district," said Melanie Walter, executive director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. "Their kids are going to school somewhere else. They're paying taxes somewhere else. So building out that kind of housing helps to keep the community vital and helps to keep people local."
Affordable housing has long been associated in the public's mind with low-income workers, but it is taking on new meaning, particularly since the pandemic in 2020, when a flock of residents migrated from the cities to the suburbs in search of more space.
Demand for housing overwhelmed supply. The median price for a home sold in the New Jersey climbed from $332,500 in January 2020 to $515,000 less than four years later, according to the New Jersey Association of Realtors, a trade group.
Rent followed suit. Monmouth and Ocean County residents needed to make $64,080 to afford a two-bedroom apartment with a median rent of $1,602, a 2023 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition said.
While the state boasts the nation's highest median household income, $96,346, there are signs more workers are digging deeper to afford housing. Nearly a third of homeowners and half of renters in New Jersey are considered "cost burdened," meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on housing, a recent report by Rutgers University's State Policy Lab said.
"We know there is a shortage, a significant shortage of affordable housing in New Jersey, but the middle class is getting squeezed as well," said Will Irving, professor of practice at the Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. "And it's getting harder and harder for young families to afford to buy a house."
Shore-area employers say they welcome the population growth and the new business that comes with it. But they also have seen their workers struggle to keep up with the rising cost of housing.
Chef David Burke at Red Horse by David Burke in Rumson
David Burke, for example, said new chefs live in his guest house in Atlantic Highlands or nearby motel rooms that he rents out until they can find permanent housing. But workers often find affordable apartments far from his restaurants. And train and bus service isn't readily available, leaving Burke to pay their Uber rides home.
"It costs me more money because people can't live in towns that we have restaurants in," Burke said. "I think there's a lot more restaurants opening in Monmouth and Ocean counties. It requires a lot more labor. Restaurants hire a lot of people. Some are part-time, some are full-time."
"It's like Aspen, (Colorado)," he said, comparing the Shore to the pricey ski resort. "People can't afford to live in Aspen. The workers to live down in the valley."
Richard Naughton has recently moved to the United States from England. He is working as a chef at The Goat, a restaurant owned by David Burke. Naughton is currently searching for housing in the area at an affordable price. Union Beach, NJ Thursday, January 11, 2024
New Jersey has launched a program to increase the supply of apartments for moderate-income workers. The $50 million program, administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, could lead to about 500 new units specifically for moderate-income residents.
It includes subsidies for developers who build units for residents making 80% to 120% of the area's median income and agree to keep them affordable for 45 years. The projects would be built near transit stations.
The income levels for eligible residents would vary, depending on their location and size of the family. But if the program had been up and running last year in Monmouth and Ocean counties, it would range from individuals making $72,830 to $109,245 to a family of four making $104,043 to $156,064.
"While you hear narratives about people leaving the state, in most of our central and northern parts of the state and the coastal regions there's so much interest and jobs and opportunity," Walter from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, said. "We're always going to have more people than there's housing available, and that drives up market prices."
"So it is a question of, can you build your way out?" she said. "We're building 7,000 units a year. That's a great year for us, but that's not keeping up with demand. And so that's going to go to the high end of the market."
Middle-class housing is an issue that has been bedeviling policy makers, prompting some employers to take steps on their own. Colorado State University in Fort Collins recently partnered with a church and real estate company to build apartments with below market-rate rent for the college's employees, the Coloradoan reported.
The idea resurrects the idea of a "company town" from the 19th and 20th centuries, when manufacturers built housing for their workers. Among them: Roebling in Burlington County, home of the former Roebling Steel Co. The concept didn't last. Companies went out of business. And workers had access to automobiles that gave them more options, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said.
Even though a new generation of workers seems ready to ditch their cars in favor of walkable commutes, companies might not be quick to build housing.
"The problem is, 100 years ago, we were land rich, and land was dirt cheap," Rutgers University economist James W. Hughes said. "Now, we (have) almost overdevelopment in many areas, and land is extraordinarily expensive. So that creates more difficulties to do it."
Richard Naughton has recently moved to the United States from England. He is working as a chef at The Goat, a restaurant owned by David Burke. Naughton is currently searching for housing in the area at an affordable price. Union Beach, NJ Thursday, January 11, 2024
For now, it leaves workers like Naughton continuing their search for affordable housing.
Naughton was working as a chef in England when he decided he needed a fresh start in life. He followed David Burke on Instagram and came to admire the restaurateur's cuisine. He decided to send Burke a direct message. The response? Send your resumé.
Naughton was hired and now is living in Burke's guest house. But he doesn't have a car, or, for that matter, a driver's license. To get to Union Beach, he needs to take two buses that don't always arrive on time.
His wish list includes a two-bedroom apartment either in walking distance to work or near public transportation for $2,000 to $3,000 a month. He hasn't found many options. And when he does find one, he wonders how he will come up with enough money for the security deposit.
"You have to have two, three months rent all in advance, and not many people have $4,000 or $5,000 lying around at anytime, so it's been quite difficult" Naughton said. "Now we're looking around this area. We've got a couple of possibilities. But it's getting enough money to put the deposits down. It's hard."
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
