That same $1.6 million buys you an ordinary, small 2 br in Manhattan. So for people comparing our waterfront to NYC, we’re a bargain even at the high end.

Have you noticed how many Hoboken families are NOT moving to Summit? I don’t know if you have kids but from what I hear, our schools are constantly improving and our local government changes. And even if what you say is true, if our market softens won’t the market in Summit likely decline as well? So what you potentially “lose” on the sale, you just gain back on the buy side.

Personally, I don’t find Observer Lofts to be a great location. In my opinion, and it’s just that, they are on a busy, noisy, congested street with few trees or parks in sight and too many bars nearby. Not to mention that the architecture is very ‘particular’. Many buyers I deal with every day eschew downtown because of the noise and other ruckus caused by the unruly bar crowds. Tons of young kids from the ‘burbs coming here to drink (and drive) and not caring at all about our community.

As for the ferry and the bus – I can’t speak for the ferry but I can see the bus from my windows and for the past decade, it seems to run quite often during rush hours. The ferry may have problems but I can’t imagine that someone wouldn’t want a monopoly transportation route to ferry across the Hudson. Hey – the NYC subways are always on the verge of bankruptcy, too, but it never seems to really matter in the end.

Personally, I live uptown and I wouldn’t trade my uptown location for proximity to the PATH in a million years but that’s just me, and that’s what makes horse races…For the busy Wall St. type who needs a place to crash to get back to the office asap, maybe downtown is the way to go. Newport and Paulus Hook seem to offer even better transportation and more luxury condos at competitive prices if that’s the deciding factor.

I stick by my guns – (and I hadn’t discussed uptown vs. down in my post – I touted the river over the west side of town) location is king and for many that means the east side of Hoboken – up or downtown.

Looking at current listings, I’m not sure I would advise anyone to buy into Maxwell Place at more than $800 per square foot in today’s dollars. Once the new building opens up and you eventually start to see some resale inventory, I’m not sure those units can sustain a 30% premium per square foot over the older South Constitution units (after adjusting for the lack of deeded parking at the latter) that arguably enjoy a better location on the waterfront. Now layer in some normalization of Wall Street bonuses and you get a slow market for $1.6 million two-bedroom units when it comes time to sell and move to Summit with your wife, newborn and three year-old.

Similarly, you can’t let location force you to overlook other vitally important things. Take the Observer Lofts. In spite of their great downtown location and the fine finishes (e.g., Viking / Sub Zero appliances), the developers offered mostly tandem parking units. Why pay $800,000+ for a unit and have to knock on your neighbor’s door to let your BMW out of the garage? Even if your family doesn’t have a car, it might be a big concern for potential buyers when it’s time for you to unload the property.

That said, I think that proximity to the PATH train is the name of the game in Hoboken for the long term. The ferry is infrequent and unreliable (and constantly seems to teeter on bankruptcy), as is the bus at rush hour. In the shadow of NYC, I truly believe that it is the ease of access to transportation – not the waterfront (barring, of course, water views) – that will ultimately rein king.