Hoboken Real Estate Market

Hoboken Real Estate Market

In a world that seems to be financially collapsing with every day we wake up, many are reluctant to look beyond the doom and gloom of the media. The saying that bad news sells newspapers is true. I recently even found myself religiously visiting news websites to read more about Bernie Madoff, the auto industry bailout, and the article on the country's worse housing markets despite the fact that I feel I have already read everything there is to know about it. The only good news I read all day was that Mark Teixiera might become a Yankee. The other potential good news I scanned in an instant and quickly forgot about it. Looking beyond all of this, I have decided to bring up a real estate market that is often either loved or hated, but needs to be respected. Instead of writing about the dramatic development including a new W Hotel, urban nightlife, home to many celebrities, and the most convenient public transportation in the country, writers continue to say New York's sixth borough (Hoboken) is going to collapse in front of our eyes with the downfall of Wall Street.

The correction in the housing industry has been a terrible tragedy for some and a gold mine for others. Today is December 22, 2008 and one market I really like to keep my eye on is Hoboken, New Jersey. An urban city just a stone throw away from the West Side Highway in New York City, Hoboken boasts one of the most affluent cities in the metropolitan area with prices half that and then some when compared to comparable housing in Manhattan, and offering twice the amenities. There is a glitch that just got thrown into the Hoboken real estate market, however. Property taxes are going up 47%. Yes, this seems tragic, but on the flip side of the coin, real estate values will take a hit, and buyers on the fence will likely start buying again due to value reassessments. With a significant reassessment of property value, real estate taxes will be lower and when Hoboken finally decides to minimize property taxes, these homeowners that bought from distressed owners in today's market will gain additional equity on their property. This is not rocket science, just the nature of the cyclical real estate market and one major factor that will play itself out.

My brokerage has the highest ranked real estate website in the area. Our tech employee has noticed a drastic pattern. In 11 years in the business, Hoboken has experienced 4 spurts of significant growth and 2 small declines, including the one we are in now. Just months before each and every growth spurt, our website traffic increased by nearly 35%. Today, we are not at 30%, but our traffic has increased quickly by 20%. So what does this tell us about Hoboken real estate? It could be nothing, but it could be something. I am not saying Hoboken is immune to price declinations, but the dropoff percentage in value cannot be compared to most areas of the country. New York City is the financial hub of the world and will be so until the day I die. Despite the Wall Street collapse and many of the 80,000 Hobokenites working in investment firms, real estate, or finance, it is a fair assumption by pessemists that we have more room to decline with the deteriorating industry conditions. I feel the opposite. Despite the financial layoffs, many have found new jobs. Of course it is not an even balance yet, but we are not in the cellar…far from it.

As many people continue to find employment in New York City and its metropolitan markets, expect many to stay instead of jumping ship to another state where the cost of living may even be cheaper. Instead of buying a 2 bedroom apartment on the Upper Ease Side of Manhattan, Hoboken is looking better every single day. In my opinion, this is why our traffic has increased. Expect buyers that have a lot of cash for down payments but are on the fence today, to begin buying by the second quarter of 2009. Hoboken was and still is one of the last housing markets to feel the pinch, but will also be one of the first to recover. Geography is Hoboken's best friend and those people who are staying know it.