“The good news is, all your taxes should come down if we don’t get this hospital,” Tripodi told the audience. “… [A]bout 20 percent of the people that look for a home in the area ask about these kind of things — is there a hospital, where do you go, where is the closest one — it’s schools and hospitals. Whether you’re selling a house or you’re just refinancing a house, your value goes down — it’s like taking away our boardwalk…”

“I think that if we don’t reopen the hospital, that would be a great argument to reduce your real estate taxes,” he explained after the meeting. “Having a hospital is part of the value that we bought when we moved here, and when you take it away, that affects us.”

A number of real estate agents said that while they agree that a hospital must reopen on the site, they don’t believe LBMC’s closure has impacted home sales or values. “I have never ever had one client or customer say to me that because we don’t have a hospital, we’re not coming to live here,” said Renee Weinberg. “It’s not in any way deterring us from selling.”

Robin Amato agreed, saying that while many buyers ask about schools, proximity to the train station and taxes, the hospital is never mentioned. “But now that the hospital is closing,” she said, “a lot of residents are certainly concerned about it. Do I think we need a hospital? Yes, absolutely. Do I think it’s going to bring the value down? I don’t feel it will. Do I think it’s going to make or break a deal for someone …? No, I don’t think so.”

Still, a number of agents acknowledged the challenges of selling a home in a post-Sandy environment, and said that flood insurance remains a major issue. “You have to remember, Hurricane Sandy is still affecting us — I’m selling co-ops and condos like crazy because people don’t want to pay $5,000 or $6,000 a year for flood insurance,” said Joyce Coletti. “Flood insurance is really, really hurting us — I have houses that people are looking to buy, [and] they come and give me an offer, the owner accepts the offer and then the buyer asks, ‘What’s the flood insurance going to be? My offer is contingent on the flood insurance.’”