The Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up - Hoboken Condo Sales, Inventory & Activity, the Week of Nov. 4th
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Market Analysis, Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up
Studio & 1 Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
7 sold in an average of 38 days at an average sale price of $433,571 representing a discount of 4% off the average list price
View 1BR SOLD Listings
None under contract this week.
171 total active with an average asking price of $470,224 View 1BR Active
8 new listing with an average list price of $549,836 View 1BR NEW Listings
Two Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
10 sold in an average of 123 days at an average sale price of $569,140 representing a discount of 3% off the average list price
View 2BR SOLD Listings
2 under contract this week in an average of 107 days View 2BR DABO Listings
308 total active with an average asking price of $657,750
View 2BR ACTIVE (first group of 150 properties)
View 2BR ACTIVE (rest of properties)
(I can only link to 200 at a time)
21 new listings with an average list price of $475,757 View 2BR NEW Listings
Three Bedroom and Larger Hoboken Condos:
None sold this week.
None under contract this week.
58 active 3BR condos for sale with an average asking price of $1,010,613 View 3BR ACTIVE Listings
4 new with an average asking price of $886,725 View 3BR NEW Listings
Compare to last week: Week Of Oct. 28
PRICE CHANGES ON HOBOKEN CONDOS FOR SALE
30 listings with price changes on Hoboken condos for the past 7 days: View PRICE CHANGES
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Hoboken Condo Sales Results - October 2008
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos
Looking for Market Analysis? Here are the October Hoboken Condo Sales numbers:
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Hoboken Open Houses - Sat. November 1 & Sun. November 2: Interactive Google Map with Listings
Categories: 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. (Note - the map is a big file so it takes a minute to load. If you don’t see the blue location bubbles right away, go grab a cup of coffee and by the time you come back to your computer it will be up.)
View Hoboken Open House Map
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The Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up - Hoboken Condo Sales and Inventory for the Week of October
Categories: Hoboken Condos, Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up
Studio & 1 Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
8 sold in an average of 84 days at an average sale price of $375,687 SOLD Hoboken Condos
2 under contract this week in an average of 77 days DABO 1BR Hoboken Condos
170 total active with an average asking price of $473,320 ACTIVE Hoboken Condo Listings
6 new listing with an average list price of $429,833 1BR Hoboken Condo Listings
Two Bedroom Hoboken Condos:
12 sold in an average of 96 days at an average sale price of $505,437 SOLD Hoboken Condos
3 under contract this week in an average of 75 days 2BR Hoboken Condos
299 total active with an average asking price of $670,604 199 ACTIVE 2BR Hoboken Condo Listings
of 2BR ACTIVE Hoboken Condo Listings
(I can only link to 200 at a time)
12 new 2BR condo listings this week with an average asking price of $789,558 2BR Hoboken Condo Listings
Three Bedroom and Larger Hoboken Condos:
None sold this week.
One under contract this week in 122 days. 3BR Hoboken Condo
54 active 3BR condos for sale with an average asking price of $1,018,142 3BR Hoboken Condo Listings
4 new with an average asking price of $749,499 3BR Hoboken Condo Listings
Compare to last week: Week Of Oct. 22
PRICE CHANGES ON HOBOKEN CONDOS FOR SALE
42 listings with price changes on Hoboken condos for the past 7 days: With PRICE CHANGES
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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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