Housing Market 2024: The Most Overpriced Beach Towns on the East Coast

It’s not uncommon to go on vacation to a beach town and daydream about the possibility of relocating to live there after the trip is over. For those dreaming of living in a beach town on the East Coast, however, they may be in for a bit of sticker shock once they find out how much money it costs to live there.

To determine which beach towns on the East Coast are the most overpriced, GOBankingRates reviewed East Coast cities with the best beach towns as sourced by Travel + Leisure, WSAZ, LoveExploring and Realtor. Factors sourced for each city include the cost of living indexes, average expenditure cost, average home value and mortgage cost, total monthly cost of living and livability index. Each city’s average home value was also compared to the statewide average using the state average single-family home value. Florida was revealed to be the state with the most overpriced beach towns with eight towns ranking in the top 25.

Ranked from 25th to first place, keep reading for the East Coast’s most overpriced beach towns.

• Population total: 19,315
• Livability: 79
• Average home value (April 2024): $737,179
• Average mortgage cost: $4,410
• Average expenditure cost: $2,007
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,416
• $ difference from state average home value: $319,951
• % of state average home value: 177%

• Population total: 4,502
• Livability: 63
• Average home value (April 2024): $802,362
• Average mortgage cost: $4,799
• Average expenditure cost: $2,281
• Total monthly cost of living: $7,081
• $ difference from state average home value: $385,134
• % of state average home value: 192%

• Population total: 149,960
• Livability: 77
• Average home value (April 2024): $576,269
• Average mortgage cost: $3,447
• Average expenditure cost: $1,982
• Total monthly cost of living: $5,429
• $ difference from state average home value: $278,797
• % of state average home value: 194%

• Population total: 1,637
• Livability: 65
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,269,533
• Average mortgage cost: $7,594
• Average expenditure cost: $2,102
• Total monthly cost of living: $9,696
• $ difference from state average home value: $624,288
• % of state average home value: 197%

• Population total: 25,087
• Livability: 78
• Average home value (April 2024): $930,043
• Average mortgage cost: $5,563
• Average expenditure cost: $2,024
• Total monthly cost of living: $7,588
• $ difference from state average home value: $461,249
• % of state average home value: 198%

• Population total: 2,624
• Livability: 56
• Average home value (April 2024): $837,647
• Average mortgage cost: $5,011
• Average expenditure cost: $1,989
• Total monthly cost of living: $7,000
• $ difference from state average home value: $420,419
• % of state average home value: 201%

• Population total: 3,690
• Livability: 72
• Average home value (April 2024): $682,883
• Average mortgage cost: $4,085
• Average expenditure cost: $1,971
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,056
• $ difference from state average home value: $348,663
• % of state average home value: 204%

• Population total: 3,153
• Livability: 62
• Average home value (April 2024): $762,467
• Average mortgage cost: $4,561
• Average expenditure cost: $1,988
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,548
• $ difference from state average home value: $428,247
• % of state average home value: 228%

• Population total: 3,689
• Livability: 75
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,004,907
• Average mortgage cost: $6,011
• Average expenditure cost: $2,096
• Total monthly cost of living: $8,107
• $ difference from state average home value: $587,679
• % of state average home value: 241%

• Population total: 3,126
• Livability: 59
• Average home value (April 2024): $809,694
• Average mortgage cost: $4,843
• Average expenditure cost: $1,979
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,823
• $ difference from state average home value: $476,692
• % of state average home value: 243%

• Population total: 3,870
• Livability: 61
• Average home value (April 2024): $824,665
• Average mortgage cost: $4,933
• Average expenditure cost: $2,030
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,963
• $ difference from state average home value: $490,445
• % of state average home value: 247%

• Population total: 2,313
• Livability: 65
• Average home value (April 2024): $831,721
• Average mortgage cost: $4,975
• Average expenditure cost: $2,155
• Total monthly cost of living: $7,130
• $ difference from state average home value: $497,501
• % of state average home value: 249%

• Population total: 1,736
• Livability: 67
• Average home value (April 2024): $836,690
• Average mortgage cost: $5,005
• Average expenditure cost: $1,987
• Total monthly cost of living: $6,992
• $ difference from state average home value: $502,470
• % of state average home value: 250%

• Population total: 3,433
• Livability: 82
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,756,210
• Average mortgage cost: $10,505
• Average expenditure cost: $2,103
• Total monthly cost of living: $12,608
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,110,965
• % of state average home value: 272%

• Population total: 6,420
• Livability: 67
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,139,227
• Average mortgage cost: $6,814
• Average expenditure cost: $2,135
• Total monthly cost of living: $8,949
• $ difference from state average home value: $721,999
• % of state average home value: 273%

• Population total: 1,318
• Livability: 68
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,179,029
• Average mortgage cost: $7,053
• Average expenditure cost: $2,016
• Total monthly cost of living: $9,068
• $ difference from state average home value: $783,991
• % of state average home value: 298%

• Population total: 26,078
• Livability: 82
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,263,733
• Average mortgage cost: $7,559
• Average expenditure cost: $2,204
• Total monthly cost of living: $9,763
• $ difference from state average home value: $846,505
• % of state average home value: 303%

• Population total: 37,708
• Livability: 63
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,026,763
• Average mortgage cost: $6,142
• Average expenditure cost: $2,034
• Total monthly cost of living: $8,176
• $ difference from state average home value: $729,290
• % of state average home value: 345%

• Population total: 7,479
• Livability: 63
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,570,515
• Average mortgage cost: $9,394
• Average expenditure cost: $2,164
• Total monthly cost of living: $11,558
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,153,287
• % of state average home value: 376%

• Population total: 4,322
• Livability: 69
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,922,247
• Average mortgage cost: $11,498
• Average expenditure cost: $2,289
• Total monthly cost of living: $13,787
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,478,882
• % of state average home value: 434%

• Population total: 2,587
• Livability: 70
• Average home value (April 2024): $2,008,969
• Average mortgage cost: $12,017
• Average expenditure cost: $2,340
• Total monthly cost of living: $14,357
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,565,604
• % of state average home value: 453%

• Population total: 1,020
• Livability: 57
• Average home value (April 2024): $1,352,921
• Average mortgage cost: $8,093
• Average expenditure cost: $2,017
• Total monthly cost of living: $10,110
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,055,449
• % of state average home value: 455%

• Population total: 10,479
• Livability: 72
• Average home value (April 2024): $2,973,334
• Average mortgage cost: $17,786
• Average expenditure cost: $2,114
• Total monthly cost of living: $19,899
• $ difference from state average home value: $2,328,089
• % of state average home value: 461%

• Population total: 82,400
• Livability: 70
• Average home value (April 2024): $2,596,041
• Average mortgage cost: $15,529
• Average expenditure cost: $2,232
• Total monthly cost of living: $17,761
• $ difference from state average home value: $2,178,813
• % of state average home value: 622%

• Population total: 2,848
• Livability: 60
• Average home value (April 2024): $2,088,165
• Average mortgage cost: $12,491
• Average expenditure cost: $2,006
• Total monthly cost of living: $14,497
• $ difference from state average home value: $1,753,945
• % of state average home value: 625%

Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned in the article was used.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates found the most overpriced beach towns on the East Coast. First GOBankingRates found cities along the East Coast with the best beach towns as sourced from Travel + Leisure, WSAZ, LoveExploring, and Realtor. For each city, the cost of living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and used to calculate the average expenditure cost in each city by using the national average expenditure costs for all residents as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The average home value from each city was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index. Assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage cost can be calculated. Using the average mortgage and average expenditure cost, the monthly total cost of living can be calculated. Using the state average single-family home value, as sourced from Zillow Home Value Index from April 2024, the average home value from each city can be compared to the statewide average. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes as supplemental information. The cities were sorted by the percent that their home values compare to the statewide home values, from largest to smallest, representing the housing markets that are overpriced.  All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 12, 2024.