Monmouth vs. Ocean County 55+ Communities: How Homes Compare

Ocean County has more large, older communities of smaller ranch homes and co-ops, while Monmouth has more newer, larger single-family homes and townhouses. Price any specific home against its own community's sales.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. Here's how the two counties compare before you shop the adult communities across Monmouth and Ocean County.

Why do the homes differ so much between the counties?

Three things: when the communities were built, what kind of homes they have, and how they're owned.

• Age. Many of Ocean County's largest communities date to the late 1960s and 1970s. Holiday City at Berkeley started in 1969, and Crestwood Village 5 started in 1977. A lot of Monmouth's communities came later, and several, such as Regency at Manalapan and Four Seasons at Manalapan Crossing, are 2020s construction.
• Size. Crestwood Village 5's 13 models run from 620 to 1,409 square feet, per its association. Village Grande at Holmdel's homes go up to about 2,000 square feet, and K. Hovnanian's current plans at Four Seasons at Manalapan Crossing go up to 3,092. There's overlap: Westlake in Jackson has 1,421 single-family homes from 1,600 to 3,500 square feet.
• Ownership. Ocean County has large co-op communities around Whiting. Cedar Glen Lakes, for example, says it sells to cash buyers only. Cash-only co-op shares and a mortgaged single-family home aren't priced on the same scale. See condo, co-op or single-family in a 55+ community.

What does new construction cost in a 55+ community right now?

It depends on the builder and the plan, and published prices change often. On October 11, 2026, K. Hovnanian's page for Four Seasons at Manalapan Crossing listed single-family homes "from the upper $800s." That's the builder's starting figure, before options and lot premiums, and it's one community. For the trade-offs between a new build and a resale, read new construction vs. resale in a NJ 55+ community.

What about the monthly fee?

The fee is part of the price. A low purchase price with a fee that covers taxes, water and sewer, like the co-op charges at Cedar Glen Lakes, isn't comparable to a higher price with a fee that covers lawn and snow only. Line up what each fee includes before you compare prices. I don't publish fee amounts here because they change every budget year; ask the association, or ask me, for the current figure. More in what the association fee pays for.

How should you compare two specific homes?

1. Same community, same model first. The best comparable sale for a 55+ home is usually the same model in the same community. My article on how 55+ homes are priced and appraised walks through it, and community pages such as Leisure Village East in Lakewood or Regency at Trotters Pointe in Tinton Falls lay out each community's homes and amenities.
2. Condition next. Two identical floor plans can be very different homes. I read roofs, mechanicals, windows and past additions like the New Jersey builder and remodeler I was.
3. Then the carrying cost: property taxes, the association fee and insurance.
4. Then the drive. Price differences between the counties often come with different drives to family, doctors and the places you go every week.

If you're selling to buy, your own home's value sets the budget. Start with a free home value.

What should sellers in these communities take from the numbers?

That the county median won't sell your home, and neither will your neighbor's asking price. Buyers in a 55+ community compare your home with the same model a few streets over, and they do it in the first days a listing is live. The first two weeks set the price. If a home can't list at a price the community's own sales support, I can't bring the seller the most money, so I build the price from those sales, then adjust for condition, updates and what the fee covers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are 55+ communities cheaper in Ocean County than in Monmouth County?

Ocean County has more of the older, smaller homes and co-ops. But compare a specific home against sales in its own community, not county-wide numbers.

Why are some 55+ homes priced so far apart in the same town?

Ownership type, size, condition and what the fee covers. A cash-only co-op share and a newer single-family home with a two-car garage can sit a few miles apart.

Where can I see sales for one community?

Sold history for a single community comes from an MLS search. Send me the community's name through the contact page and I'll walk you through what sold and why.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice, and not investment advice. Community details come from each association's or builder's site, opened October 11, 2026.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• Ocean County's 55+ communities, town by town
• Monmouth County's 55+ communities, town by town
• Monmouth County vs. Ocean County: where to live
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark.