The endless appeal of the Jersey Shore’s backyard bungalows

In planning and zoning terms, the postcard-perfect building in Maryellen Paget’s backyard by the bay is called an accessory dwelling unit.

But for longtime Jersey Shore-goers, these little houses have had a litany of cozier names, including mother-in-law suites, granny flats, bungalows, shacks, and guesthouses. At Paget’s home in North Wildwood, the little house in the backyard was always known as the “birdhouse” for the little, wooden bird-shaped door knocker that still hangs on a bedroom door.

“We know at one point, and we’ve been here for decades, that it used to be a garage,” Paget said recently, outside the bungalow behind her home. “It used to be rented to schoolteachers.”

Today, Paget’s “birdhouse” still has beautiful, exposed rafters from that garage, plus two small bedrooms, a small bathroom, and a small living room.

There’s a loft too, where a few kids could cram together, if needed. On this day, some beach chairs and coolers were up there.

The American Planning Association defines an ADU as “a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone, single-family home.” They’re not duplexes, though the two homes will share some common space in the backyard. They have become more popular, nationwide, as both a way to create more housing and as short-term rentals.

Last year, the real estate site Zillow said ADUs were having a “rock star moment,” noting “scores” of cities and counties in at least 35 states have “adopted laws that make it easier and more attractive for homeowners to build ADUs.”

At the Jersey Shore, where lots are smaller and space and parking are rare, many new homes are multi-floor duplexes or even triplexes, but, for the most part, that’s not how homes were built there in the 20th century. Paget’s main house on the street, built in 1930 with about 1,000 square feet, would also be considered a quaint bungalow by today’s standards. It’s the kind of house a new developer might knock down to build something much larger. Sadly, that happens more often than not at the Jersey Shore.

Homes with a preexisting ADU can be lucrative, local real estate agents say, because they come with options. They can be rented out long-term or via short-term rental sites like Airbnb, kept as an overflow home for additional guests, or subdivided into an entirely new parcel and sold off.

“People who have them know the advantage they have,” said Brian Reed, a longtime real estate agent out of North Wildwood.

Further north, in Asbury Park, housing officials have made an effort to encourage ADU construction, although not for the lucrative short-term rental market. Similar to resort towns like Aspen, Colo., or Key West, Fla., Asbury Park has seen its popularity — and prices — explode in recent decades, and officials there are concerned about who may get left out as a result. Aspen, Key West, and other resort towns have regulated short-term rentals, and Asbury is trying to do the same with its new ADU language.

“The idea is that these will not be rented for vacation but rather by a yearly lease, or a family member can live in it,” said Michele Alonso, Asbury Park’s director of planning and redevelopment. “We’re looking to create affordability for people who work here.”

Across the country, ADU advocates have argued that the units should be embraced, wholesale, in city and suburban settings as a way to keep multigenerational families intact or to create affordable housing. Philadelphia author Diana Lind, who wrote Brave New Home, said ADUs have been more accepted and utilized on the West Coast in recent years.

“They have been commonplace parts of American housing for a very long time, though,” Lind said. “Some time around the mid- to late 20th century, we stopped building them when zoning was really starting to be enforced.”

Lind said ADUs are relatively uncommon in Philadelphia, even in neighborhoods where they would fit, like Chestnut Hill or Mount Airy.

Alonso said other towns in New Jersey have adopted similar regulations as Asbury Park’s, including Princeton and Maplewood. Prior to the new ordinance, Alonso said Asbury Park had a handful of preexisting ADUs she described as “servants’ quarters” or “carriage houses.”

“They are similar in that they have a less diverse housing stock and high demand,” she said of Princeton and Maplewood.

While even the Wildwoods have seen housing prices skyrocket, Reed said there’s still enough housing there to keep ADUs as a viable rental option. Reed said the ADUs are fairly common in the Wildwoods, but rarer in other towns like Cape May or Avalon.

“Every Shore town is so unique and has its own, distinct market,” he said.

A few blocks from Paget, in North Wildwood, Philadelphia firefighter Tony Berner bought a home during the COVID-19 pandemic that came with an ADU. He wasn’t looking for one, but he’s since renovated the small space and rents it out via Airbnb. It has one bedroom and a pullout couch and he calls the place “Mamma Mary’s” after his mother.

“I advertise it as a couples retreat,” he said.

Berner’s larger home, out front, is a duplex, and he hasn’t ruled out renting those units out and staying in the ADU himself, long term.

“I usually do stay here if I can,” he said, “but I’m down here this weekend with my girlfriend.”

Paget, who lives near New Hope, said two of her sisters own homes on her street in North Wildwood. One of them also had an ADU, she said, but the structure was torn down by a previous owner.

“Some people just don’t see the appeal or don’t want to deal with them,” she said. “There’s one across the street, though, and a few more around here.”

Paget has seven sisters, though, plus a daughter and grandkids. She’s never gotten around to renting the “birdhouse,” because it’s already in high demand.

“This place is never empty,” she said. “It doesn’t have a full kitchen — you can make coffee or toast — but we don’t need it, cause everyone is always in my house, eating.”