Waterfront vs. Non-Waterfront in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey

A Borough That Is More Than Half Water

Most shore towns describe their footprint mostly in terms of land, with water treated as the edge rather than the substance of the place. Harvey Cedars inverts that. At 1.19 total square miles, land accounts for only 0.56 square miles, while water makes up 0.63 square miles — 52.61% of the borough's total area. That is a genuinely different geography from Ship Bottom's and Surf City's mostly-land footprints, and it reflects a town that sits on a narrow strip of Long Beach Island with real, substantial frontage on two distinct bodies of water: the Atlantic Ocean on the east side, and Barnegat Bay on the west.

Practically, that means oceanfront and bayfront property in Harvey Cedars are genuinely different propositions rather than interchangeable flavors of "on the water." Oceanfront lots face the open Atlantic directly, with the wave exposure, dune systems, and storm-protection infrastructure that come with that side of the island. Bayfront lots face the comparatively calmer water of Barnegat Bay to the west. Given how small the borough is — a 2020 census population of just 391 residents, up from 337 in 2010, though the summer population swells to roughly 12,000 — neither side of the island is more than a short distance from County Route 607 (Long Beach Boulevard), the main road running through town.

The Karan Case: What an Oceanfront Dune Easement Actually Cost One Owner

The clearest, most concrete illustration of oceanfront-specific risk in Harvey Cedars is not a hypothetical — it is a decided New Jersey Supreme Court case. Harvey and Phyllis Karan owned an oceanfront home on an 11,868-square-foot lot in the borough. As part of a federal, state, and local beach-restoration and storm-protection project, the Borough sought a perpetual easement over 3,381 square feet of the Karans' property — more than a quarter of the entire lot — to build a 22-foot-high protective dune. The Karans had rejected the Borough's original offer of $300 for the easement. When they refused to consent, the Borough exercised eminent domain, and the resulting dune obstructed the panoramic ocean view from the upper decks of their home.

A jury initially awarded the Karans $375,000 in just compensation, measured as the difference between the property's fair market value immediately before and immediately after the taking. On appeal, the New Jersey Supreme Court considered whether non-speculative, calculable benefits from a public storm-protection project could be weighed against that damages figure, or whether only benefits unique to the property (as opposed to shared by the whole community) could offset the award. On July 8, 2013, the Court reversed and remanded for retrial, holding that non-speculative, reasonably calculable benefits that increase a property's value at the time of the taking must be considered, even if neighboring properties enjoy similar advantages. The case ultimately settled in September 2013 for exactly $1 — a genuinely ironic outcome given the Karans had turned down the Borough's original $300 offer years earlier.

The Karan case is not a cautionary tale about Harvey Cedars being unusually litigious or unusually risky to buy into. It is decided, resolved law, not an ongoing dispute: the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 and the parties settled the same year. What it illustrates concretely is a genuine tradeoff specific to oceanfront ownership on a barrier island that fronts the open Atlantic: the same storm-protection infrastructure that dune systems provide can also come with view obstruction and, in some cases, a partial taking of the lot itself, and New Jersey courts have already worked out how that gets valued when it happens.

Storm History Behind the Dunes: Why Harvey Cedars Takes Storm Protection Seriously

The Karan case did not happen in a vacuum — Harvey Cedars has its own, distinct catastrophic storm history that explains why the borough pursued dune construction aggressively enough to condemn part of an oceanfront lot for it. In 1944, a major hurricane struck with little advance warning, destroying 20% of homes in the borough and causing significant beach erosion; a real oceanfront pavilion built by Jason Fenimore was destroyed in that storm. Then, in March 1962, a nor'easter often called the "Storm of the Century" (also known regionally as the Ash Wednesday Storm) hit even harder, destroying approximately 350 homes — roughly 50% of the borough's ratables — and earning Harvey Cedars the specific, sourced distinction of being the most heavily-damaged town on the New Jersey coast.

That history is distinct from the Hurricane Sandy damage percentages already documented for neighboring Ship Bottom and Surf City, and this page will not restate those neighboring figures as if they belonged to Harvey Cedars — no confirmed Sandy-specific damage percentage for Harvey Cedars itself was identified in this research pass. What is confirmed is that a borough that lost about half its ratables to a single 1962 storm, on top of losing a fifth of its homes to a 1944 hurricane, has a long, real basis for prioritizing dune and storm-protection infrastructure on its oceanfront — the same infrastructure at the center of the Karan case.

What We Will Not Invent: No Oceanfront-vs-Bayfront Price Premium

It would be easy to state a specific percentage premium for oceanfront property over bayfront property in Harvey Cedars, or bayfront over the interior streets near Long Beach Boulevard. No such figure was confirmed during this research pass, and this page will not manufacture one. What can be said honestly, and only in general terms, is the widely understood pattern across barrier-island markets: direct water frontage, whether oceanfront or bayfront, with unobstructed views and often more direct water access, typically commands a premium over interior lots in the same town. Whether that premium runs higher on the ocean side or the bay side in Harvey Cedars specifically, or how it compares with neighboring LBI towns, is not something this page can state with confidence.

What is documented, in general terms rather than as a current market figure, is that Harvey Cedars is an expensive, low-density beach town: many bay- or oceanfront houses are priced at $2 million or more, and in 2019 the borough's total property assessment exceeded $1.28 billion. Those are historical reference points, not a current (2025/2026) median sale price, and no current effective property tax rate for Harvey Cedars specifically was confirmed either. Get current comparable-sale data for the specific street and side of the island from a local real estate agent, and current assessment and tax information from Ocean County records, before budgeting a purchase on either side of Harvey Cedars.

So What Should Actually Drive an Oceanfront-vs-Bayfront Decision Here

None of this means the oceanfront/bayfront distinction is meaningless in Harvey Cedars — it clearly shapes daily life and long-term risk: direct wave exposure, dune systems, and the possibility of storm-protection easements like the one at the center of the Karan case on the ocean side, versus calmer water and different access considerations on the bay side. Given that the borough's own footprint is 52.61% water, distance from either shoreline should not be assumed to be a reliable stand-in for actual flood or storm risk, and the Karan case is a real reminder that oceanfront ownership specifically can carry legal and view-obstruction tradeoffs tied to the very infrastructure meant to protect it.

A buyer weighing oceanfront against bayfront property in Harvey Cedars is better served comparing the concrete, documented factors here — oceanfront wave exposure and dune/easement exposure of the kind the Karans experienced, versus bayfront's calmer-water profile — general market-value expectations for direct water frontage versus interior lots, and an actual parcel-specific flood-zone determination, rather than treating either shoreline as automatically safer or more valuable than the other. This is a New Jersey market with its own state sales-tax and property-tax rules, distinct from other coastal states this site covers, so do not assume a framework from elsewhere applies here.

Adding It Up: What Is Real, and What We Will Not Invent

What is confirmed and real: Harvey Cedars totals 1.19 square miles — 0.56 square miles of land and 0.63 square miles of water (52.61% water, a majority-water footprint) — on Long Beach Island in southern Ocean County, bordered by Barnegat Township, Long Beach Township, and Stafford Township, with genuine frontage on both the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Borough of Harvey Cedars v. Karan, decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court on July 8, 2013, involved a 3,381-square-foot easement (more than a quarter of an 11,868-square-foot oceanfront lot) condemned for a 22-foot protective dune, a $375,000 jury award later reversed on appeal, and a final settlement of exactly $1 in September 2013. Harvey Cedars' own storm history includes a 1944 hurricane that destroyed 20% of homes and the March 1962 nor'easter that destroyed roughly 350 homes, about half the borough's ratables, making it the most heavily-damaged town on the New Jersey coast at the time. The 2020 census recorded 391 year-round residents, up from 337 in 2010, alongside a seasonal summer population of roughly 12,000.

What we could not find, and will not fill in with an invented figure: any confirmed current (2025/2026) oceanfront-versus-bayfront price premium, a current median home sale price for Harvey Cedars on either side of the borough, a current effective property tax rate, or parcel-specific flood-zone data distinguishing oceanfront from bayfront risk. Get current comparable-sale data and pricing for the specific side of the island from a local real estate agent, a current parcel-specific flood-zone and Base Flood Elevation determination from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center or the Borough of Harvey Cedars' construction office, and a current flood-insurance quote from a licensed agent before budgeting a purchase anywhere in Harvey Cedars. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, insurance, or financial advice.