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Amanda Oglesby– Asbury Park Press
Updated Oct. 16th, 2025 5:56 A.M. ET
Key Points
- As the shutdown continues, house sales and closings across New Jersey are seeing a pause, said Doug Tomson, CEO of New Jersey REALTORS, an advocacy group for real estate agents.
- “Had this (nor’easter) reached the level of a federally-declared disaster, we would be in so much trouble,” said Amanda Devecka-Rinear, director of the New Jersey Organizing Project.
- The National Flood Insurance Program covers 4.7 million properties in the U.S.
As the flood waters receded from the nor’easter over Oct. 12 and 13, new threats lie on the horizon for many Jersey Shore homeowners, according to some experts and elected officials.
The National Flood Insurance Program lapsed as of September 30, leaving prospective homeowners in flood-prone areas without a way to buy into this government-based insurance program.
The NFIP covers 4.7 million properties in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors. Without it, many homeowners could not get mortgages to buy homes in areas with a history of flooding. Congress has until the end of October to reauthorize the program before a 30-day grace period ends.
Amanda Devecka-Rinear, director of the New Jersey Organizing Project, is particularly worried about what this lapse means for Jersey Shore residents. The Organizing Project advocates for New Jersey victims of flooding and severe storms, like Hurricane Ida and Superstorm Sandy.
“The longer the (federal government) shutdown goes, the more this is going to impact people,” Devecka-Rinear said.
She also worries that homeowners with discounted rates could face price hikes if their policies lapse, through no fault of their own.
Under opens in a new windowfederal law, homeowners and business owners with mortgages on property located within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas are required to purchase flood insurance. These are properties that have a 1% or higher risk of flooding every year.
As the shutdown carries onward, and the NFIP remains in limbo, house sales and closings across New Jersey are seeing a pause, said Doug Tomson, CEO of New Jersey REALTORS, an advocacy group for realtors.
“There’s a concern in the marketplace when a program like NFIP is put into peril because of the government shutdown,” he said. “We’re looking at over 1,400 properties a day nationwide that are directly affected by the lack of NFIP.”
Currently, the program is in 30-day grace period, where home sellers with existing policies can transfer that policy to new owners, he said.
“However, after that 30-day window, that’s where this starts getting into a very gray area,” Tomson said.
For now, homeowners can not buy new policies or renew existing policies until the program is reauthorized by Congress, according to the opens in a new windowNational Association of REALTORS. Claims will continue to be paid, at least until the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s coffers run out of money, according to the organization.
Jersey Shore residents are not the only ones affected by the lapse in the NFIP. Homeowners near lakes and rivers are also impacted, Tomson said. Many homeowners must use the NFIP, because they cannot afford flood insurance policies on the open insurance market, he said. Outside of the NFIP, flood insurance policy premiums are significantly higher, because they are not backed by the federal government, Tomson said.
For NFIP policies, “everything remains for 30 days,” he said. “It’s after that where the uncertainty exists. And if there’s one thing that I could tell you about businesses and real estate, is (that) we don’t like uncertainty in the marketplace.”
Erosion concerns grow, says Pallone
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said the government shutdown is putting the Jersey Shore at risk in other ways as well.
“Now the Republican shutdown is stretching agencies like FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) even thinner, slowing the response when our communities need help the most,” said Pallone, a Democrat who represents New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District. “We need the federal government back at full strength and full funding restored to protect our coast before the next storm hits.
“If Congress passes the Republican bill which slashes dedicated beach replenishment funds to just $15 million nationwide — instead of the usual $200 million — it will leave towns without the resources they need to keep pace with erosion,” he added.
Devecka-Rinear, of the New Jersey Organizing Project, worries the drying up of federal dollars is risky for state residents, especially with autumn storms still brewing in the Atlantic.
“Had this (nor’easter) reached the level of a federally-declared disaster, we would be in so much trouble,” she said. “Rather than waiting for that moment, let’s call Congress now and say we’ve got to have the NFIP reauthorized now and we need to have $51 billion in the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund.”
The opens in a new windowDisaster Relief Fund helps pay for storm mitigation efforts, financial assistance to disaster survivors, and repairs of public infrastructure.
Devecka-Rinear said the nor’easter’s flood damage would have been worse if years of federal disaster recovery money had not helped to bolster Shore communities after Superstorm Sandy.
“We’ve got to keep that (federal money) flowing,” she said.
Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 17 years. Reach her at [email protected] or 732-557-5701.