May's Sales Numbers For Hoboken Real Estate and Jersey City Real Estate Condo's

In my monthly E-Newsletter I include a look at monthly sales numbers and compare them to the previous month. Here is my report from this month's E-Newsletter..


Final May Sales
Hoboken


60 Units went under contract in May - compared to April, we saw just 28
48 Units sold in May - compared to April, we saw just 39
Inventory levels currently are 587 units for sale (147 were listed in May)

About half of May's sales were attributed to 1st time buyers and entry level homes, with the other half being in the move up market mostly larger 2 bedrooms and a handful of luxury sales. There is no question that the more aggressively priced homes are moving in this market. An increasing number of seller's are putting there homes on the market with hopes that next year's market will yield a higher sales price. Noticeably higher rental inventory levels this month.


Jersey City All condo's classified as downtown Jersey City


34 Units went under contract in May - compared to about half - 15 in April
18 Units sold in May - compared to 13 in April
Inventory levels currently are 405 units for sale (94 were listed in May)

Coincidentally, almost half of May's sales were in the lower, entry level, priced homes. The other half were also sales in higher priced large 2 bedrooms however the highest price peaked at $627,000 compared with Hobokens $970,000 for a condo. No question that Jersey City sales are sluggish compared to Hoboken however there is less inventory available plus these numbers do not reflect any sales directly from builders and new construction. 77 Hudson, a 48 story sky scraper, unveiled it's models this week.


Before putting your home on the market or purchasing a home make sure to study monthly trends to get an accurate market value. Make sure you list your home at a price that will attract buyers today. If you're buying, make sure that you know what the home is worth before you make an offer - it can save you thousands!


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Hoboken Real Estate Open Houses, Condo's and more

The rain is supposed to clear up by tomorrow so it looks like it could be a nice weekend to view some places!

Saturday

1500 Hudson Street #2T- 2-4pm, Studio for $429,000 Halliburton Homes

1115 Willow Ave #109 - 2-4pm, 2 bedroom for $415,000 Halliburton Homes

1110 Clinton Street #8, 1-4pm,

1100 Adams, 1-3pm, 2bd 3 bth for $825,000 Empire Realty Group

317 Monroe, 12-2pm, 2bd 2bth for $539,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

402 9th St #E2G, , 1-3pm, 2bd 2bth for $649,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

812 Grand St #310, 1-3pm, 3bd 2bth for $749,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

81 Adams St #1, 1-3pm, 3bd 2bth for $769,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

Sunday

211 Jefferson St, 1-3pm, huge 2 bd 2 bth for $699,000 Uptown Realty

1249 Bloomfield St, 1-3pm 4bd 2bth brownstone for $1.23Mil Empire Group

2 Constitution, 1-4pm, 1bd 1bth for $499,000 Empire Group

100 Clinton Street, 1-4pm, 1bd 1 bth for $359,000 Realty Express

2 Constitution Court, 1-4pm, 1bd 1bth for $477,000 Realty Express

915 Madison St, 1-4pm, 2bd 2bth for$529,000 Realty Express

16 Willow Terrace, 1-4pm, 3bd 2bth single family for $699,000 Realty Express

533 Adams, 1-3pm, multiple units starting at $525,000 Liberty Realty

723 Washington, 1-3pm, Carriage house for $849,000 Liberty Realty

510 Monroe #205, 1-3pm, 2bd plus den for $499,000 Liberty Realty

1500 Washington #6U, 2-4pm, 2bd 2bth for $684,900 Liberty Realty

1114 Park Ave #1l, 2-4pm, 2bd 1bth for $434,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

812 Grand St #206, 1-3pm, 1bd 1bth for $445,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

326 Monroe St 32R, 1-3pm, 2bd 2bth for $549,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

1200 Grand St #627, 1-3pm, 2bd 2bth PH $589,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

70 Adams St #2L, 1-3pm, 2bd 2bth plus den for $649,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

402 9th St #E2G, 1-3pm, 2bd 2bth for $649,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

81 Adams St #1, 1-3pm, 3bd 2bth for $769,000 RE/MAX Gold Coast

214 Jefferson St, 1-3pm, 1bd 1bth for $315,000 Hudson Place Realty

156 7th St, 1-3pm, 2bd 1.5bth for $525,000 Hudson Place Realty

67 Madison, 1-3pm, 2bd 2.5bth townhouse for $729,000 Hudson Place Realty

1115 Willow Ave 1-3pm, 4bd 2.5bth for $739,000 Hudson Place Realty

Hoboken real estate deals for 1st time buyers and entry level condo's!

Searching the MLS now to keep up to date on market conditions and inventory. Just looked for condo's for sale in Hoboken up to $349,000 - since that's where most 1st time buyers cap their price range - and I found 88!

There is a nice choice of 1 bedrooms downtown near the PATH for under $330,000 asking, like one on 2nd and Willow with a terrace for $339,000, a nice one on 2nd and Jefferson asking $315,000, 2 on 5th and Bloomfield for $313,000 and $323,000, one on 2nd and Bloomfield for $289,000! There are others too all around town and if you go west you'll find some great places at great prices. Rates just crept up as was much anticipated by better than expected results in the economy and hopefully they'll stay stable and not go back up again. But if you're on the fence I would keep an eye on rates and in the meantime get a rate lock now, this might be your chance while rates remain low.

Feel free to reach me if you want to a referral to a mortgage representative you can contact for some advice and to answer questions. Happy home search!

NY Times article says sales are low, seller's counter your offers!

The NY Times article this morning's headline read "U.S. Home Sales Remain Sluggish As Supply Soars". Read the full article here. The National Association of Realtors much anticipated sales figures release was announced on Wednesday. Read the full report here. Here is an exerpt taken from the article directly related to condo sales.
"Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 6.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 500,000 units in April from 470,000 in March, but are 9.4 percent lower than the 552,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price4 was $173,900 in April, down 18.5 percent from April 2008."

These are two good articles to read whether you're looking to buy, sell or rent out your place.

Last night a buyer that I'm working with submitted an offer, a good offer - not $100,000 below asking, and after the agent told me that her seller had turned down an initial offer when they first listed - before the price reduction - they want to counter at full price.
Surprisingly this isn't common. Unfortunately I don't believe that seller's are being educated by their agents as to our market. Or perhaps they are in denial. Seller's need not give their places but they shold understand that it is a buyer's market, numbers are low, prices are depreciating and inventory is growing. Not to mention buyer's are cautious not to overpay and understand that their new place will probably depreciate some more during their first year of ownership.

Seller's are competing for a smaller pool of buyers so a few things to consider when selling and preparing for an offer.

• Make sure your home shows great, smells great and is sparkling clean.
• Accomodate as many appointments as you can, even last minute ones.
• Be ready to negotiate any offer low or not. You don't know when or if there will be a next one. Always always counter.
• Study figures monthly. What sold last month isn't valid this month.
• Reevaluate and review feedback provided by your visitors.

Entry Level 1st time home buyers there are deals in Hoboken!

Ok, maybe it won't buy you the majestic parliament building of Budapest seen here but for under $350,000 the Hoboken real estate market has about 80 condo's for you to choose from! If you're an entry level buyer, or a 1st time buyer, or maybe you're looking to invest in Hoboken now that prices are more reasonable you can pick from a studio sized at about 340 sq feet to even a 2 bedroom 2 bath at 872 sq ft!


Hoboken has seen softening of prices in the last 6 months there's no question. However believe it or not some units, if priced really well are getting multiple bids. My office had two this past week. Just keep that in the back of your head in case it happens to you.
However, some properties you might be able to negotiate between 5 and 10% under asking, if the situation works in your favor and the seller's are motivated. If you bid anything lower than that though you might not get a response. But you can be agressive! This is what you've been waiting for. And if you have good terms ie, large down payment and a short closing window with no property that has to sell then you have more leverage and you should use it to your advantage.


So is now a good time to buy? I would think so! With low rates and lots of inventory to pick from it sure seems like it. Yes, do your homework and make sure your agent does research on the property you want to bid on. And maybe you do decide to wait a few more weeks to see how things go... But remember, as soon as good news starts to creep into the media rates will also start to creep up.

Investors tip: try not to become too emotionally attached to a property. That way you can see the purchase as an investment. I know, easier said than done, after all, this will be your home and you could easily fall in love with a place. I'm confident you can find a home out there that you will love and make your own and you were savvy enough to score a good deal with an expert negotiator at your side. Heck, maybe you even negotiated closing costs paid for by the seller and got some fabulous window treatments and a plasma TV included too!


Now that's shopping!