How Many Hoboken Condos Are “Under Water”?
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos
What is an Under Water Hoboken Condo Anyway?
There was an article in the NY Times last week about the housing fiasco that struck a chord. There were many innocent home buyers swindled by unscrupulous mortgage brokers, others who have adjustable-rate mortgages with payments that have ballooned and they can no longer afford, and still other home owners with good intentions who have fallen on bad times. It has always seemed to me that something was missing at the heart of the explanation of why we are in this mess. This column by David Leonhardt insightfully addressed those home owners who are said to be “under water”. Now in Hoboken, an under water condo may have a literal meaning every time we have a heavy rain. In this case, however, that’s not what is meant by an under water Hoboken condo. Homeowners whose properties have lost enough value so that the property is worth less than the underlying mortgage is said to be “under water” or have negative equity in their home. That is what the article addressed. It’s also what has always made me feel unease about the mortgage crisis.
Do Property Owners Get To Choose Not To Pay?
If you read about the mortgage crisis, it is often assumed that just because an owner is under water, he or she cannot afford to make the mortgage payments. That is simply not always the case. A property owner with negative equity often has a choice to make. Many of them could continue to pay their mortgage in a timely manner. Just because the value of a Hoboken condo has gone down on paper, that does not necessarily mean that the condo owner cannot afford the payments. Nor does the owner always have to sell the property. There are home owners with negative equity who could stay put and keep paying and many do. These people might like their condo, want to stay in Hoboken or feel a moral obligation to keep their side of a bargain. After all, many of them knowingly and willingly with the representation of counsel chose to enter into a contract and agreed to make the payments. Nothing in that agreement provides them with an automatic out if the value of the underlying property falls. That would be similar to buying stock on the premise that if the price goes up the owner can sell at a profit but if the price drops the corporation is somehow obligated to absorb the shareholder’s loss. While some of us might wish that were true, that’s not the deal. Why should it be any different with a mortgage? In fact, when stocks bought on margin decline in value, the owner gets a margin call and has to put more money down. Why not do that with real estate, too?
As the article aptly points out, there are home owners who look at their purchase purely as an investment vehicle that may not pay off. They choose to walk away from the mortgage and the real estate because they can. With the prospect of a homeowner bailout, these owners may not have to worry about their credit rating being hurt, declaring personal bankruptcy or even taking a loss. With help from the federal government by way of your and my tax dollars, the condo owner who could make the mortgage payments but chooses not to will get the same relief as those who truly cannot pay and face foreclosure. Many of the home owners who would receive help by choice rather than by necessity are likely to be investors. The Hoboken condo buyers who may have bought pre-construction as a speculative investment with the hope that the market would continue to skyrocket often planned to flip the property. They bought with little or no money down and no intent to ever live in the condo. With a primary residence somewhere else they often have no ties to the community. Is that who we should be helping? What do these condo buyers contribute to the future health and prosperity of Hoboken?
There Are No Easy Answers
Of the $700 billion bailout fund the Treasury Department has structured, it seems that because of reasons like these, little of that money will go directly to homeowners regardless of their need or circumstances. I always believed that if you make a promise you should do your best to keep it. To me, that includes paying your mortgage when you can afford to do so regardless of the value of your home.
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Hoboken Open Houses - Sat. 10/25 & Sun. 10/26
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Open House Map
Here is the interactive Googlemap for all open houses in Hoboken this weekend. This map will be updated on Saturday & Sunday morning so please check back. Did you know you can subscribe to this map as an RSS feed? Just click on the RSS symbol at the top of the map. As new open houses are added it will be sent right to your feed reader.
View The Hoboken Open House Google Map
You may wonder why last week’s open houses are still on the map. It makes it much easier for me to update last week’s posting than to repost from scratch. So please bear with me and check the dates when reading descriptions. This may come as a shock but:
- there are Hoboken agents who don’t publicize their open houses until the very last minute;
- there are Hoboken agents who post an open house and don’t give the address;
- there are Hoboken agents who post an open house but don’t say which unit in the building;
- there are Hoboken agents who post an open house but don’t give the time or update the date;
- there are Hoboken agents who post only on craigslist and not on the MLS;
- there are Hoboken agents who post on the MLS and not on craigslist;
- there are Hoboken agents who must really want to read the Sunday paper at their open house because finding out that they are hosting an open house is a real challenge.
If you are a seller, I hope these are not your agents!
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The Weekly Wednesday Wrap-Up - Hoboken Condo Sales & Inventory for Week Ending Oct. 22
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Market Analysis, Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up
Studio & 1 Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
7 sold in an average of 80 days at an average sale price of $378,142 Click to View SOLD 1BR Listings
None under contract this week
171 total active with an average asking price of $475,324
Click to View ACTIVE 1BR Listings
7 new listing with an average list price of $326,628 Click to View NEW 1BR Listings
Two Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
7 sold in an average of 102 days at an average sale price of $580,428 Click to View SOLD 2BR Listings
2 under contract this week in an average of 66 days Click to View DABO 2BR Listings
300 total active with an average asking price of $663,929 Click to View first 199 ACTIVE 2BR Listings Click to View balance of ACTIVE 2BR Listings
(I can only link to 200 at a time)
16 new listings with an average list price of $702,763 Click to View NEW 2BR Listings
Three Bedroom and Larger Hoboken Condos:
None sold this week.
None under contract this week.
56 active 3BR condos for sale with an average asking price of $1,014,534 Click to View ACTIVE 3BR Listings
1 new with an average asking price of $500,000 Click to View NEW 3BR Listings
Compare to last week: Week Of Oct. 15
PRICE CHANGES ON HOBOKEN CONDOS FOR SALE
41 listings with price changes on Hoboken condos for the past 7 days:
Click to View PRICE CHANGES
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Hoboken Condo Sales - End of 3rd Quarter Market Analysis Results
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Market Analysis
Market Statistics for 2008 Through September for Hoboken Condo Sales with Year over Year Comparisons
These figures includes only sales on the MLS and do not include for sale by owner or new construction sold directly by the developer such as Toll Brothers sales at Maxwell Place.
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Hoboken Open Houses On An Interactive Googlemap - Sat. Oct 18 & Sun Oct 19
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Open House Map
Open Houses In Hoboken This Weekend
Here is the link to the Hoboken Open House Googlemap - You can click on each property bubble for a link to the actual listing, too.
Please note - Each week we take the previous week’s map and update it using info found in flyers, realtor websites and the Hoboken Reporter. The map is constantly evolving and being modified. If you see an open house on the map with last week’s dates it means we have not yet been notified that an OH is being held at that property this week. Check back often for the latest information.
Click to view Hoboken OPEN HOUSE Google Map
Now grouped by size of unit and sorted by price. Enjoy!
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