Supersize homes and a sizzling residential market are making the Seven Mile Island resort towns of Avalon and Stone Harbor affordable only to the most affluent buyers, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

A constant addition of new construction is inflating both the size and price of homes. The new houses often have a twice higher price tag compared to estates on the Main Line.

According to a new report by Pacaso, Cape May County, which is home to Seven Mile Island, is the nation’s most expensive place to buy a second home. So far this year, second homes have been selling in the county for an average price of $989,000.

Additionally, the total value of all property in the two resort towns nearly doubled from 2015 to 2023.

Developers are now eying vacant lots, small cottages, and small businesses on the island for redevelopment with increasing frequency.

“It’s always been the way here, old houses get torn down and replaced with new houses,” said Martha Wright, who has lived in Avalon for 25 years.

Read more about the housing and rental markets in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Learn more about Seven Mile Island.