Mile Square Real Estate

A lot of the problems we are currently seeing with the mortgage industry today can be attributed to banks and mortgage brokers selling, higher risk, "higher profit" mortgages to people who would have been much better off with traditional lending products. Some estimates say that up to 55% of all subprime loans that were made during the boom were made to prime borrower with good credit and substantial down payments. Unfortunately, since the origination fees or Yield Spreads (how the brokers and lenders get paid) was higher on the subprime loans, these riskier subprime loans were often pushed onto unsuspecting consumers. It even been reported that in some cases banks contacted mortgage brokers who had already submitted client's applications and encouraged them to push the subprime loans to buyers.

So consumers who could have put 10 or 20% down and made the payments on a 30 year fixed loan were instead sold 0% down Adjustable Rate Mortgages. I've even heard of cases where people were told not to put 20% even though they had it available. Instead, they were told to hold onto the cash so they could do "something else" with it. Unfortunately, these buyers are now faced with mortgages that are adjusting above anything they can pay, or would have ever had to pay with a traditional mortgage product.

So what have we learned from this? Apparently, not much. Just last week I heard of a case in my office where a buyer was looking to to purchase a condo in Hoboken. The buyers applied for a loan through one of the major national banks. They had good credit and would be putting 20% down. With their great credit and substantial down payment they were approved for a loan. . . an FHA loan! That's right, this reputable national bank was selling an FHA loan to a couple with good credit and 20% down. Why? Well the origination fees on FHA loans are definitely higher so more money is to be had there, then there is the fact that FHA loans are guaranteed by the government so there is less risk to the bank. More money to be had and less risk for the bank. We can see why they would push the FHA loan.

The problem for the consumer? FHA interest rates are higher, even with good credit, and both an upfront and a monthly Mortgage Insurance premium are required, even with 20% down.

So has anything really changed? Apparently not, some banks still appear to be selling consumer loans that help their short term profits while increasing the consumers payments and costs.

Luckily in this case the agent working with the buyer noticed what the bank was trying to do and explained the situation to the client. The client is now getting a traditional mortgage through a mortgage company we recommend in the office. However, had this not been recognized this buyer would have been boosting the bank profits and their expense for years to come.

While the Hoboken condo market hasn't seen too many short sales or foreclosures, and in general has fairly secure loans, it is still important to recognize the causes of the current mortgage debacle and do your research on the type of loan you are being offered.

Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate, mortgage financing, Subprime mortgage

Posted by Andy at 1/20/2010 03:26:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Big things are happening at MetroStop!

New businesses have signed on to move into the retail spaces at MetroStop. Moving to the retail spot on the north end of the building will be a convenience/grocery store. On the south end will be a restaurant. Both businesses are expected to open during the summer of 2010 once ABC approval is received for the restaurant and both spaces are built out.

In addition Metro Homes has announced that work is being done to improve both the lobby and roof deck and that the hallways throughout the building will finally see some color with their finished coat of paint.

It has also been reported that the vacant lot on 8th and Monroe has been sold by the bankrupt Monroe Arts center developer and another big developer has bought the parcel on 9th and Monroe from Tarragon. Hopefully we will see some movement on those lots soon.

Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate, MetroStop

Posted by Andy at 1/13/2010 12:34:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I've recently starting following Peter Schiff's economic analysis after viewing some online videos from a few years ago where he prophetically predicted the economic turmoil we are currently experiencing. While being interviewed on the economy and making these predictions he was openly mocked by analysts that said the good times would keep rolling. Unfortunately, he was right back then, and now he's predicting a new financial disaster in the making, FHA loans.

Watch the video. I really can't say I disagree. Are we simply repackaging subprime, 100% financing loans?

Peter Schiff is President of Euro Pacific Capital, Austrian Economist and Candidate for US Senate in CT.



Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: Hoboken foreclosure, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson county foreclosure, Hudson County real estate, Peter Shiff, Subprime mortgage

Posted by Andy at 9/18/2009 09:34:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hoping to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit? If so, you only have about 4-5 weeks to find a home before the November 30th deadline. With the tougher lending standards closing times have been extended from 6 weeks to about 8 weeks. So if you're thinking about buying a home to take advantage of this opportunity, pick up the phone and call your Realtor. Time is running out. If you're not under contract by the end of September you could miss out on this great opportunity.

For more information on the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit visit:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

Or watch our YouTube Video



Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: Federal first time home buyer tax credit, First time home buyer, Hoboken Condo, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County condo, Hudson County real estate

Posted by Andy at 8/22/2009 02:53:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am proud to say I recently earned my Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)designation. I am not alone, at the RE/MAX International convention in Las Vegas on March 3, RE/MAX Chairman and Co-founder Dave Liniger announced the corporation’s plans of having 7,500 RE/MAX Agents earn the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation this year.

“The CDPE designation is one of the most important and timely educational products I have seen in over 40 years in the real estate business,” said Liniger. “I will do whatever it takes to get as many agents as possible through this course so they can help homeowners, the economy and our country.”

The Distressed Property Institute, based in Boca Raton, Fl. and launched in January 2008, offers the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation after comprehensive on-site or online training on how to handle short sales. The institute was founded by dynamic real estate veteran Alex Charfen.

“The fact that a global real estate powerhouse like RE/MAX has committed to training its agents on short sales demonstrates that this is a market all Realtors® must understand,” Charfen said. “Realtors® are in a position to help people avoid foreclosure. They can be a great catalyst for the recovery of this housing crisis.”

Nationally, only 12 percent of short sales are approved. Among CDPE designated Realtors®, more than 80 percent of short sales are approved. According to the National Association of Realtors®, more than 45 percent of existing home sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 were foreclosures and short sales. In a short sale transaction, homeowners sell their property for less than the mortgage amount, but avoid the foreclosure process.

The CDPE designation has been endorsed by many major U.S. brokerages.
Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: CDPE, Dertified Distressed Property Expert, Foreclosure, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County real estate, Jersey City real estate, Short Sale

Posted by Andy at 4/24/2009 02:14:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I often hear the argument from buyers that they can save on the commission by working directly with the seller's agent. While giving up your advocate isn't necessarily in the buyer's best interest, the questions remains. Can a buyer save on commission?

Agents are wrong when they say you can't save money by buying a home directly through the listing agent. In many cases you can save at least 1/2 of 1% of the total purchase price. This is how that can happen. A seller lists their home. In the listing agreement the seller negotiates with their agent to offer a 1% commission reduction if the listing agent sells the home. As a buyer, you view that home and like it. You place an offer at what you are willing to pay -1%. The seller counters your offer at what they were willing to net plus full commission and fees. But wait, why full commission, why aren't they giving up the 1%? Oh, that's right, the seller put the 1% savings in the contract to save themselves 1%, not to give it to you, the buyer who had nothing to do with the original negotiation! Now what? Well if all goes well you negotiate and split the 1%. You each get 1/2%. The seller saved 1/2%. You gave up your representation and saved 1/2%. Maybe a couple of thousand dollars.

Oh but wait, I forgot, we haven't taken into account your opportunity costs. What is that you ask? That is all the opportunities you gave up using your time buying your home on your own rather then spending it in another more productive or enjoyable way. In this market it's not unfair to say my clients will look at 20 homes before deciding on one. That is 20 out of the 100 that may fit their needs. But why did they only look at 20 then? What about the other 80? Well after sitting down and speaking to my clients and viewing a few homes with them I get an idea of what they are looking for. Based on this information and knowing the homes I pre-view every day I can eliminate many of the homes on the market for one reason or another. Searching on your own you will have to pre-view your own homes. This will likely add a few weekends to your search over the course of a couple of months. Also add hours to your search in having to meet multiple Realtors all the time for individual showings. Once you have found a home add the redundancy of going over everything twice, once with your. . I mean the seller's agent and once with your attorney. After all you'll likely not entirely trust the Realtor you have chosen to work with knowing they don't have your best interests at heart. Now here's the really rough part. Take the late night at the office that you won't get overtime for. Since you don't have an advocate, you are coordinating your own closing, your lawyer, title company, mortgage company, appraiser, inspector, etc.. After all we can't trust the seller's agent to do all this, can you?

In today's world you can do everything on your own. You can invest your own money using E*Trade research. You can write up legal documents using an Office Depot CD. You can self diagnose their illness using WebMD. You can find your next home using Realtor.com. While there is an abundance of information out there, what you need is knowledge because information without understanding is useless.

We all know a few hours of research on the Internet can not replace years of experience, education, and knowledge of the market. For example, I have already spent 10 full days in conventions, seminars, and earning my Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation this year. Add to that my 4 years of experience, the scores of closed transactions, and the 10-15 days of education I received every year for the last 3 years and you will see there is a lot to know in this ever changing industry.

So yes, a buyer can possibly save 1/2 of 1% going to the listing agent. The questions is, is it worth it to you? I know I value my clients time, I hope you do too.

Andres Garcia
Sales Associate, CDPE
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty
56 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Direct: 201 795-5200 x340
Andres@MileSquareRealty.com
http://www.MileSquareRealty.com

Labels: Buyer rebate real estate commission, Buyer save on real estate commission, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County real estate, save commission placing offer through listing seller agent

Posted by Andy at 4/22/2009 10:46:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

With mortgage rates at historic lows, CNBC talks to Susan Wachter of Wharton Business School and Howard Glaser, a mortgage industry consultant, about whether there will be a springtime recovery in the housing market. Wachter said the economy still needs to turn around before the housing market really improves. Glaser said the money the federal government has been pumping into the system has gotten stuck at the level of the major banks and isn't trickling down to consumers.

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County real estate, Jersey City real estate, Mortgage rates

Posted by Andy at 3/25/2009 09:00:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Since the Federal Stimulus bill was passed a lot of people have been asking about the new first time home buyer tax credit so here is a short synopsis:

For homes purchased in 2009 a first time home buyer will receive a tax credit up to $8000. (if the home was purchased in 2008 that credit is $7500)

There are certain criteria which have to be met in order for a first-time home buyer to qualify. The main criteria are:

1) The home must be your primary residence.
2) You have not owned a main home within the last 3 years.
3) You purchased the property after April 8, 2008 and before December 1, 2009.
4) Your adjusted gross income is less than $75,000 (if you file jointly the adjusted gross income cannot exceed $150,000). As your adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers) the amount of credit you receive decreases until it is phased out entirely at $95,000 ($170,000 for joint filers).

The 2009 credit differs from the 2008 credit in the fact that it DOES NOT need to be repaid under most circumstances. The 2008 credit has to be repaid over a 15 year period.

This information is for general purposes only. Please speak to your tax consultant to see if you are eligible for this tax credit.

Labels: Federal first time home buyer tax credit, First time home buyer, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County real estate, Jersey City real estate

Posted by Andy at 3/11/2009 10:38:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Most people know that the lower your mortgage interest rate, the less money you waste in interest payments to the bank. However, did you realize the lower your mortgage rate, the faster you build equity in your home

Let's say our friend in Hoboken is currently paying $1,000 a month in rent, and would rather spend that $1,000 a month on a mortgage payment instead (I know, you'd be hard pressed to find a $1,000 Hoboken rental but work with me, it's a nice round number). If he got a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7%, that would cover a $150,000 loan. Since $1,000 a month for 360 months works out at a total of $360,000 in mortgage repayments, on average about 42 cents of his mortgage-payment dollar will go towards building equity. What's more, most of that is back-ended: after five years, he will have paid down his principal amount outstanding by just $8,820.64, or less than 15% of his total payments.

On the other hand, a $1,000 payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.5% would cover a $200,000 loan -- which means that 56 cents of every dollar you spend on your mortgage goes towards equity. And after five years, he will have paid down his principal amount outstanding by $17,450.82, which is 29% of his first five years' payments.

So yes, the house is $50,000 more expensive, but it's just as affordable, and you're building up more equity, not less, with the lower mortgage rate. If you look at an amortization curve for a high-interest-rate mortgage, it starts off pretty flat: most of your mortgage payments are going to interest. The lower that mortgage rates fall, the more equity you build up in the early years.

Labels: Hoboken apartment, Hoboken Condo, Hoboken Real Estate, Hoboken real estate market, Hudson County condo, Hudson County real estate, Mortgage rates, rent vs buy

Posted by Andy at 12/22/2008 11:24:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Federal Reserve attempted to end price declines in the housing market on Tuesday with two new programs aimed at making it easier for consumers to obtain loans for homes, cars and on credit cards.

Under the new mortgage program, the Fed will buy up to $100 billion of debt issued by government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It will also buy up to $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. The Fed said that the actions were taken "to reduce the cost and increase the availability of credit for the purchase of houses, which in turn should support housing markets and foster improved conditions in financial markets more generally."

Fannie Mae's current-coupon 30-year mortgage-backed security, which is tightly correlated on a spread basis to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of consumer mortgage rates, has fallen 38 basis points on the day, which means that the 30-year mortgage rates are likely to fall a similar amount. If they do, it would bring the average rate to 5.66%, its lowest since January when the average 30-year mortgage rate was 5.48% (the 2008 average is 6.11%). In Hudson County rates were as low as 5.50% as of Tuesday morning.

Labels: Hoboken Condo, Hoboken Real Estate, Hoboken real estate market, Hudson County condo, Hudson County real estate, Jersey City condo, Jersey City real estate, Mortgage rates

Posted by Andy at 11/25/2008 01:04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

July 1, 2007
New York Times
The Hunt
Falling in Love With Hoboken’s Prices

UNTIL their marriage last fall, Elana and James Nanscawen weren’t fussy about their living situation. Their one-bedroom rental in the financial district was perfectly adequate, if small.

“We planned so that the wedding was our focus, and we got that financial piece of it out of the way,” Mr. Nanscawen said. The same held for their honeymoon in Mexico. By spring, though, they were growing impatient to buy a bigger place where it would not be so inordinately difficult to do everything — cooking, entertaining, doing the laundry to her liking and keeping the place tidy enough for his.

When the two met three years ago, Elana Sebring, now 25, was sharing a three-bedroom rental in East Midtown with three friends from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, where she had studied fashion. The group paid about $2,400 a month.

Mr. Nanscawen, 34, an Australian, was living in a studio in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, for $800 a month. After he graduated from the University of Tasmania in Hobart, he headed for Kalamazoo, Mich., where his mother is from. He is now an information technology manager for the Thomson Corporation in the financial district.

They were introduced by mutual friends who invited them sailing. Only Mr. Nanscawen knew he was being set up. “On this sailing trip, I met my husband and my future,” Mrs. Nanscawen said.

Tired of the long commute from Bensonhurst, Mr. Nanscawen moved to Liberty Tower on Liberty Street, the neo-Gothic office building that was converted to a co-op in 1980. He rented a one-bedroom there for $1,750, which later rose to $1,950. His bride-to-be joined him.

They enjoyed the building — especially the doormen — but over time, little things loomed large. The neighborhood shut down early, and few of their friends visited. Construction noise was everywhere.

Worst of all, “It became agitating because there was no space in the apartment to put anything,” Mrs. Nanscawen said. Their wedding gifts sat at her mother’s house in Stroudsburg, Pa. Their two closets overflowed. Only once did the couple have a dinner party, inviting four guests for risotto. Everyone squeezed around a card table that doubled as the kitchen counter. “Never again,” said Mrs. Nanscawen, an accomplished cook.

She often ripped out magazine recipes, “and James was mad because there was no place to put them,” she said. “When I put something away in our tiny little apartment, I would end up forgetting about it, so I would leave the clippings out to remind me I wanted to make the recipes. We would have weekends where we would power-clean and find recipes everywhere.”

She longed to do the laundry herself, too. Their building wasn’t even near a coin laundry, so they spent at least $20 every week for pickup and drop-off service.

“Being in fashion, I care about my clothes,” said Mrs. Nanscawen, who works for Cockpit USA, which makes military- and Americana-inspired clothing.

“Tank tops would turn into tube tops,” she said. “We had a lot of stuff shrunken or ruined, texture-wise.”

They began their hunt with a budget of $550,000 to $700,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, an amount that was low for Manhattan. “We had some married friends hunting at the same time, and they would come back to us with the same numbers we were finding,” Mrs. Nanscawen said. So they asked themselves, “Do we want to fall in love with an apartment and find out it costs a million dollars, or look at things we can afford and then fall in love?”

A good friend who lived in Hoboken, N.J., had no trouble persuading them to look there. “Take the same amount of money, and it is night and day in terms of amenities you get,” Mr. Nanscawen said. Hoboken seemed to fit their personalities, too. “You walk up and down Washington Street and it’s all strollers, a fun atmosphere,” Mrs. Nanscawen said.

A listing for a duplex condominium on Madison Street led them to Katherine Petsinis, an agent at Liberty Realty Hoboken. They found the layout awkward, but Ms. Petsinis began culling listings for them. “They wanted something luxury but not too luxury, somewhere in the middle,” she said.

Most places they saw were perfectly fine, but “it just wasn’t something where you felt it was definitely it,” Mrs. Nanscawen said. “It was always a little, little issue that we didn’t want to settle on.”

For example, they loved the apartments at 1100 Adams Street, part of the Upper Grand development, but thought they were too far from the heart of Hoboken.

The Nanscawens liked another Madison Street apartment with a large kitchen. But it was a third-floor walk-up, and they worried about access for their parents.

“We were trying to talk each other into it,” Mr. Nanscawen said. “We were saying, ‘Can we handle it? The stairs are carpeted, maybe it’s not so bad, it’s only a gradual slope.’ ” But they immediately reconsidered. “What are we doing?” he said. “This is our first home and we are committing to it, so we want to make absolutely sure that this is absolutely the place, no doubt.”

Ms. Petsinis contacted them as soon as a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium in their price range became available in Adams Square. The 1870 building, formerly Public School 3, the Daniel S. Kealey School, was converted to rentals in 1996 and is now being converted to condominiums.

Inside, they found 12-foot ceilings, an open layout, a dishwasher, lots of light and overhead storage. The second bedroom could function as a combination guest room, home office and future nursery. “I looked at James and gave him the eyebrows-up this-is-it look,” Mrs. Nanscawen said.

The price was $615,000, with common charges of about $350 a month, and taxes of $7,600 a year.

To keep themselves from acting impulsively, the Nanscawens had not brought a checkbook. Now they feared someone else would like the place as much as they did. So they grabbed the PATH train home and returned the same afternoon, check in hand.

In the month since their move, Mrs. Nanscawen has been organizing her recipes in a binder and planning the menu for a dinner party for 12. She bought a color-coded set of laundry bags on a rolling rack. “It is awesome” to do laundry in the building’s laundry room, she said. “We let everything accumulate because we were so busy. I did five loads at once. I was happy as could be.”

When their new furniture was delivered, the delivery man told them he had gone to school there. “He said, ‘I’ve lived here in Hoboken my whole life, and I was really excited to see they did something good with this place,’ ” Mr. Nanscawen said.

For more on Hoboken Real Estate visit

Labels: Adams Square, Hoboken Condo, Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County condo, New York Times article

Posted by Andy at 8/13/2007 01:50:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tarragon Corp. and locally-based URSA Development Group have received the necessary approval to begin construction on a 12-story, 112-unit condominium project in Hoboken, N.J. On Friday, the city's zoning board of adjustment granted final site plan approval for 900 Monroe, which is to be the first luxury high-rise development and seventh residential building in Tarragon and URSA's Upper Grand community.

With the approval in place, the developers will begin construction in June of this year. 900 Monroe is planned to include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, including 10 two-bedroom duplexes. In addition, the building will feature 7,600 square feet of retail space and an outdoor café. The development will be located adjacent to the 9th Street light rail station. In February of 2007, the Upper Grand community was awarded the National Association of Homebuilders' Best in American Living Award for "Best Urban Smart Growth Neighborhood/Community.

Labels: Hoboken Condo, Hoboken Real Estate, Hoboken redevelopment, Hudson County condo, Tarragon, Upper Grand

Posted by Andy at 4/28/2007 07:12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando helped make Hoboken, New Jersey, famous. Now designer Michael Graves and builder Robert Toll are making the waterfront town across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan a haven for the rich and famous.

Hoboken, a city with working-class roots, long served as a refuge of junior Wall Street analysts. Its newer residents include Governor Jon Corzine and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, as builders convert apartments into luxury condominiums with fitness clubs, doormen and shuttles to New York City-bound trains and ferries.

Demand for condos in the square-mile city of 40,000 residents is a lifeline for builders such as Toll Brothers Inc. that are weathering a yearlong decline in the U.S. housing market. Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers has three condo projects under way in Hoboken. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. already has sold 33 of the 37 condo units in the W Hoboken, a luxury hotel that it plans to open next year.

``We're killing 'em in Hoboken,'' Chief Executive Officer Robert Toll said at a March conference in Las Vegas.

Nancy Chin, who was born and raised in New York, said she recently purchased a one-bedroom waterfront condo with an oversized terrace at Toll Brothers' Hudson Tea development in Hoboken. Those units start at $600,000.

``We always loved the city, but we wanted to be on this side,'' said Chin, 57, a real-estate agent and empty nester. ``Over there, you would have a view of a wall.''

Corzine's Abode

Corzine, a former chief executive officer of Goldman, Sachs & Co., moved to a rental in Hudson Tea when he was divorcing in 2002. He may run state affairs from the condo or from the governor's mansion in Princeton when he is released from the hospital following his April 12 automobile crash, said Tom Shea, his chief of staff.

At Hudson Tea, where Manning also lives, a 1,300-square-foot (120-square-meter) two-bedroom condo with cherry hardwood floors, gourmet kitchen with six-burner stove, marble bath, and 13-foot (4-meter) ceilings goes for $1.5 million. That's about $1,154 a square foot. Manhattan condos sold for an average of $1,142 a square foot last year, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc.

Hudson Tea has a residents' club with a theater, fireplace and business center; a fitness center; and an indoor children's play area. Chin said the amenities and location won her and her husband over.

Hoboken, birthplace of Frank Sinatra, was a thriving industrial hub of shipping and commerce in the 19th and early 20th centuries, home to products including Lipton tea, Maxwell House coffee and Hostess cakes. The city was portrayed as a blue- collar shipping port in the Oscar-winning 1954 film ``On the Waterfront,'' starring Brando.

Magnet for Students

The maritime industry crumbled in the 1970s as companies moved to bigger ports with deeper waters. A decade later, students began flocking to Hoboken for its affordable, renovated brownstones and townhouses and its easy access to New York.

Junior Wall Streeters moved in as the number of housing units in Hoboken jumped 14 percent from 1990 to 2000. The 2000 U.S. Census showed that 98 percent of the city's housing units were occupied, 77 percent by renters.

In 2004, Toll Brothers began converting apartments to condos in what were once Lipton Tea buildings. The company is renovating an adjacent warehouse into residences called Harborside Lofts, and it has cleared away nearby Maxwell House structures to make way for the four-building Maxwell Place, which will have more than 800 units.

Architect Graves designed the lobbies, elevators and hallways for Maxwell Place, as well as the condo interiors. The development has a heated rooftop pool and garden.

Copying New York

``We've taken the best-in-show of what we find in Manhattan and we've brought it over here,'' said Henry Waller, project manager for City Living, the urban development division of Toll Brothers.

Toll Brothers is targeting Manhattan emigres seeking more space and features, empty nesters from the suburbs, and families who don't want to give up urban life, he said.

``Some people feel it's a bit nicer living outside of Manhattan and looking at it than it is living in it,'' said Brian D. Meunch, of BrianDavid Realtors, a Hoboken real-estate agency.

Not everyone agrees. Hoboken is a nice place to visit but not somewhere he would want to live, said Oliver Ryan of New York housing blog www.apartmenttherapy.com.

``Hoboken seems very 1990s,'' Ryan said. Even so, he said, it's a smart real estate investment.

Michael Barry, whose Hoboken-based Applied Development Company LLC is building the W Hotel, said residences there will range from $1.8 million to $2.7 million. Monthly fees of about $1,200 will pay for services including maids and valets, he said. Spa treatments, pet walkers and in-home botanical services are extra.

A similar, upper-floor apartment on the water would cost a minimum of $4 million on the New York side of the Hudson, Barry said.

``It's a lifestyle choice that wasn't available 10 years ago, when if you wanted a doorman building with a concierge and swimming pool you didn't have a lot of options there,'' Barry said. ``But you do now on this side of the river.''

By Terrence Dopp
April 25 (Bloomberg)

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County condo, Hudson Tea, Maxwell Place, W Hotel

Posted by Andy at 4/25/2007 11:48:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

One of the hottest new amenities being offered in upscale urban condominium developments doesn’t have anything to do with granite in the kitchen, marble in the baths, steam rooms or simulator golf. It’s school.

As cities like Hoboken and Jersey City, once havens for college-age renters, have been transformed into condo-heavy communities brimming with young professionals, the population of babies and toddlers has inevitably increased.

Now, developers are striving to offer residents with children incentive to stay in their urban homes — by bringing high-quality schools right to their doorsteps.

Most of the schools being ensconced in large developments are private, but not all: in Hoboken, the developer Lawrence Bijou will build a 46,000-square-foot facility for the Elysian Charter School within a large residential building he plans to create in what is now a parking garage on Park Avenue. Charter schools are tax-supported but independently run.

Some developers even go so far as to say schools within large developments might become a must-have. “As a developer, you can put in your best finishes, add more and more amenities, offer better views, lovely architecture, But at the end of the day, you won’t be successful unless you provide the essential services that people find most important.”

Excerpts from New York Times
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: April 1, 2007

Labels: condo amenities, Elysian Charter School, Hoboken Real Estate

Posted by Andy at 3/31/2007 05:36:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Owning Vs. Renting - It Makes Dollars and Sense

Over the last ten years, the cost of rental housing in the U.S. has increased an average of 3% per year.

The apartment or home that you rent for $1,600 a month will cost you more than $2,150 a month 10 years from now.

The Federal Reserve Board estimates that homeowners have a net worth almost 36 times more than that of renters.

Ginnie Mae Rent vs Buy Calculator

Andres Garcia
http://www.milesquarerealty.com

Labels: Hoboken apartment, Hoboken Real Estate, rent vs buy

Posted by Andy at 3/16/2007 10:49:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

While Hoboken and Hudson County real estate prices are down about 10% from their peak in 2005, many home buyers remain on the sidelines waiting for the "bottom." Unfortunately, the only way you know you hit bottom is when you can look back and pinpoint the turning point. With a strong January & February, 2007 is showing that last fall may have been the "bottom" everyone was hoping to jump in on. 2007 has brought the return of bidding wars, busy open houses, and stressful multiple offer "highest and best" sales. While there's "cautious exuberance" about a better real estate market for sellers in 2007, the NY Times reports "for January, at least, both prices and the number of signed contracts rose in double-digit percentages compared with the same month in 2006." All this indicates that those remaining on the sidelines have missed the "bottom" and may soon see increasing housing prices.

Andres Garcia
http://www.milesquarerealty.com

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate

Posted by Andy at 3/13/2007 09:50:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

A great New York Times article. The shift is visible in the Hoboken market.

NEW YORK TIMES
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: February 25, 2007

There are signs that the residential market slowdown is over — at least for new condominiums, especially if they are near the water. At a number of condo projects, sales are going well enough that buyer incentives like free upgrades or discounted prices are being reduced or eliminated.
“We still like to incentive-ize our buyers,” said Chris Winslow, director of marketing for the northeast at the Tarragon Development Corporation. “We felt the need to retool, though, because of the strength of the market.”

Last month, Tarragon cut two juicy incentives that it had been offering at its Trio condo complex in Palisades Park: a $10,000 credit toward closing costs and a 4 percent discount off list prices.
In downtown Hoboken at Tarragon’s 1100 Adams building, an incentive of up to $9,000 toward closing costs was reduced to $5,000, and as of March 1, buyers will no longer be eligible for a year’s free common charges, Mr. Winslow said.

And in Edgewater, where Tarragon is building a high-rise tower beside the Hudson River called One Hudson Park, all incentives have been removed. The major come-on had been an offer of two years without monthly common charges, which was worth up to $25,000, depending on the size of the apartment.

The Edgewater complex will begin opening for occupancy by summer, and sales have been brisk in recent months, Mr. Winslow said. “We’ve noticed stronger sales at One Hudson Park, Trio and 1100 Adams since about mid-December,” he said.

When sales opened earlier this month at another Edgewater project, Peninsula at City Place, buyers were offered a year’s free common charges. But within 10 days, 20 contracts had been signed, and Savanna Partners, the developer, decided it didn’t need to stimulate sales at the 201-unit converted rental apartment building, said Sean Osher of CORE Marketing, which is handling sales promotion.

“We are not going to continue doing it because we don’t have to,” Mr. Osher said. “We’ve evidently had the good luck of coming to the market at the turn of the upswing.”

Mr. Osher and other market watchers said they could only speculate as to why the residential market is picking up along the Jersey “Gold Coast.”

Some developers and sales agents mentioned the plus-size year-end bonuses handed out to Wall Street financiers as one factor spurring home purchases generally. In addition, the exceedingly tight — and pricey — market in Manhattan may be producing a significant “spillover effect” along the western banks of the Hudson, they said.

Furthermore, the Jersey waterfront has begun to exert its own appeal to people who might be Manhattan-centered, according to Benjamin D. Jogodnik, a senior vice president at the City Living division of Toll Brothers.

“Two or three years ago, all that mattered was that you could get a 40 percent price break coming across to the Jersey side,” Mr. Jogodnik said. “It was all about the price break, and people thought they were compromising to gain dollars and cents.

“Now, with the Hudson County side coming to fruition, builders really delivering and amenities like a 30 percent increase in park space in Hoboken becoming reality, and new retailers coming, people are seeing how neat it all is — and they are showing up in droves at our sales centers,” Mr. Jogodnik said.

For City Living’s latest condo project in Hoboken, the high-end Harborside Lofts now being created in an old warehouse building at the Hudson Tea complex, no incentives are being offered — and yet, as many as 75 home shoppers show up each weekend day, he said. Sales opened last fall, and the 115-unit building is now about 70 percent sold out.

At Maxwell Place in Hoboken, which Toll Brothers is building in partnership with the Pinnacle Companies, Mr. Jogodnik said 300 of 376 units in the second tower have been sold preconstruction.

He and other developers said that distinctive condos at the high end of the scale seem to be the hottest properties right now — even at locations that are not on the waterfront.

In Chatham, Sterling Properties is building a group of 56 town homes with prices starting at $1.225 million. Twelve of 18 units in the first phase of development at the project, which is called Rose Valle, were sold over the last few months.

In Wall, where Franklin Development Group is building Cedar Hollow Estates, a group of 11 condos set in horse country, free upgrades that were worth as much as $100,000 and included an in-home elevator have been eliminated. Interest in the six homes that remain available — all of which offer up to 5,000 square feet and are priced in the $1 million range — is sufficient to warrant this, the developers said this month.

Over all, signals point to the possible end of the housing decline in New Jersey, said Jeffrey
Otteau, who analyzes market data for brokers. December was the first time in 16 months that there was a higher number of homes sold than in the comparable month a year earlier, he recently reported. Sales were up 2 percent, according to Mr. Otteau.

He is compiling comparable figures for January and said he expects sales to be up even more.
Mr. Otteau does not compile separate figures for condo sales. But he said that in Hoboken — where large numbers of condos have been sold in recent years — the pace of sales was up 55 percent in December 2006 over December 2005.

Mr. Osher, the marketer of the Peninsula at City Place in Edgewater, said, “I think we’re seeing a general rising tide,” after 250 brokers and potential buyers attended a party 10 days ago at the opening of sales. “I spoke with brokers from all over the area today, and everyone is saying things are definitely looking up.”

Labels: Hoboken Real Estate, Hudson County condo

Posted by Andy at 3/11/2007 06:56:00 PM | Permalink | Comments