Friday, December 30, 2005

Hoboken 2 Bedroom Condo Glut

I spoke with a Hoboken resident this week that follows the market there very closely since he owns a few rental properties. He confirmed what I have been hearing, which is that sales of two bedroom condos that are not directly on the waterfront have ground to a halt since about late September, early October. These types of condos, which are also in Jersey City, Edgewater, Weehawken, Brooklyn and Queens, are the classic starter properties for recently married couples with one or no kids and are only purchased with the intention of moving out to the ‘burbs within 3 to 5 years, or whenever the second kid comes, whichever is sooner. I believe that couples that have difficulty selling these Hoboken condos will not be showing up at open houses in Holmdel or Howell this spring unless first, the Hoboken seller lowers there asking price significantly and second, the Holmdel seller does the same.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does it make sense to buy those 2-bedroom condos in Hoboken for more than $600K, which you can rent it at $2500 per month? Use interest rate 6%, that is $3000 interest per month.

Friday, December 30, 2005 9:56:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a realtor in Hoboken and did a quick recap on the sales activity for 2005 in Hoboken. We definitely have the most inventory in the 2-bedroom category (approx 166 units come up as active in the Hudson County MLS vs 92 active 1-bedrooms, 23 active 3-bedrooms and 6 active 4-bedrooms).
You can go to my blog to see more details, www.judymarcianos.blogspot.com.
Even though everyone is talking about the market being slow, I am still working with buyers actively looking to buy in Hoboken. Its nice to have a better supply of inventory to show them vs. the Spring market. They can shop around more and take their time making a decision.

Saturday, December 31, 2005 4:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Does it make sense to buy those 2-bedroom condos in Hoboken for more than $600K, which you can rent it at $2500 per month? Use interest rate 6%, that is $3000 interest per month."

Seriously.

I was tracking a 2br (ONE bath) brownstone that until this week was listed on the MLS. It was priced at $790K and sat for months. The monthly carrying costs were $4500 or so. Far more than any potential rental stream. (Negative cap rate anyone?)

Not sure if it sold or got yanked. I suspect the latter. It was by the corner of Bloomfield and 11th if anyone knows.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006 10:56:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are a lot less buyers from October through January because people typically do not want to move between December and March. The market goes through this almost every year...In fact, the median age in Hoboken has increased significantly over the past few years. I wouldnt worry about the town between the tunnels for now...It has too much going for it.

Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:57:00 PM  

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