2011 Apr 6th

The Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up – Hoboken Condo Sales & Activity for the Week of April 6th

Categories: Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up

Hoboken Condos Sales & Activity – Week of April 6th, 2011strollers

Last weekend I was out with buyers all day Saturday and Sunday.  I came home and said to my husband “there is a lot of crap out there”.  In the old days, during the bubble, even the crap would sell.  Today it sits.  The price gets reduced again and again and, eventually, it either sells, gets rented, or expires.  This is what buyers read in the media and hear through the grapevine.

What they don’t hear so much is that the really nice properties (and they are not so common) end up with multiple offers.  Still.  They may not always be over asking but often go for at or pretty near asking.  The cream of the crop sells quickly and there have often been offers within the first week of listing.  I’ve had several of my buyers be outbid in the past month.  A few were looking for large units (over 1200 sq. ft).  All wanted the usual – parking, w/d, elevator, decent location, 2 or 3 bedrooms.   Others were looking for the standard 2br 2bath with parking and an elevator, a balcony and gym and not on Jackson.  Guess what – there are not enough of these units to meet the buyers demand.  It is sometimes hard for a buyer to believe this to be the case.  After they lose out on a few prime units, they start to understand.  Inventory, in the meantime, keeps shrinking.

Think about this – there are only 34 three bedroom condos on the MLS for sale in all of Hoboken.  I see about 34 moms with double strollers on Washington Street just on my way to the office in the morning.  Demand is out pacing supply in certain market segments.

Here is this week’s condo sales report:

Disclaimer: The data relating to real estate transactions on this web site comes in part from the Hudson County MLS. While some of these listings are, in fact, our listings they are not ALL our listings nor do we hold them out as such. Century 21 Listings are identified with “C21” after the address. Other listings are from the MLS and are identified with “MLS” after the address. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Studio & 1 Bedroom Hoboken Condos:

11 new listing

4 Dabos

4 Sold

9 price reductions

139 Total Active 1BRs

Two Bedroom Hoboken Condos:

17 new listings

6 Dabos

15 sold

10 price reductions

191 Total Active 2BRs

Three Bedroom and Larger Hoboken Condos:

3 new listings

2 Dabos

3 Sold

1 price reduction

34 Total Active 3BRs

Hoboken Condo Open Houses

If you are in the market for a Hoboken condo, our Hoboken Open House Google Map is your best source for locating every open house in Hoboken. It is the single, most complete listing available and we were the first ones to do it. We compile the information by hand from all possible sources to provide you with all the information you need in one spot. It’s posted on Friday every week.

Want to Receive New Listings & Price Reductions Daily?

If you would like to be emailed the new listings and price reductions each weekday in either 1br, 2br or 3br categories just email us at [email protected] letting us know which size(s) you would like and we’ll add you to the daily email list.

For more information you can always contact us at 201 993 9500.

Thanks for reading and, as always, we welcome your comments!

Posted by Lori Turoff | Currently 7 Comments »

2008 May 9th

When “Final and Best” is Neither

Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Legal Matters

Beware When Buying a Condo in Hoboken – Final Doesn’t Always Mean Final

The Hoboken condo and real estate market is still reasonably strong and a surprising number of Hoboken condos and brownstones elicit multiple offers. When this happens, the listing agent can handle them in two basic ways:

Competing Bids Can Cause Chaos or Worse

With competing bids, the buyers bid against each other until the seller accepts one offer and says “stop – no more showings, no more offers”. Very often the seller will play one buyer against the other to keep outbidding each other to get the highest price. This strategy backfires when both buyers get frustrated and walk away. Occasionally a seller will accept one buyer’s offer, sign contracts and begin attorney review with that buyer. Then an even higher offer comes in, possibly even after the the end of attorney review when the sales contract is supposedly binding, and the seller will dump the first buyer or try to get the first buyer to top the bid again. This results in hard feelings, a disgruntled first buyer and may even end in a law suit.

The idea behind “Final and Best” is for the seller to be as fair as possible to everyone. The listing agent tells the buyers’ agents that each buyer should present their “Final and Best” by a certain deadline. The seller will then select which offer is most attractive and move forward with that buyer. “Final and Best” is supposed to avoid tangled mess of multiple bidders trying to out bid each other. It is often presented to the buyers as a way to “level the playing field”.

As They Say in Latin, Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware!

Even when the seller’s agent says they are doing “Final and Best” in the end, it’s often entirely meaningless. Well how can that be, you may wonder? Here is a comon scenario:

So much for “Final and Best”. Now, of course, there are some sellers with a sense of fairness that actually superceeds their greed. Upon having committed to a buyer, they will not entertain any further offers, even if higher than the accepted one. Buyers should remember, though, that just because the seller represents that they are doing Final and Best, it may be neither.

When is a Deal a Deal?

So when can a buyer relax and know that they’ve bought the property? At closing, of course. Prior to closing buyers should keep in mind that anything can and does happen. During attorney review, the contract is not even binding. The risk to the buyer is greater before buyer has put any money on the table. Once buyer has paid the initial deposit, done the inspection, obtained and delivered a mortgage commitment, the risk lessens. Chances are, the property is no longer being shown. In fact, a smart buyer will make a term of the offer be that upon acceptance of the offer the property is taken off the market. The more time that goes by, the fewer other buyers there are likely to still be floating around. But regardless of what the contract says, a seller can still change his or her mind and the buyer’s only recourse is an expensive lawsuit. We all know that when that happens, it’s the lawyers who win.

Posted by Lori Turoff | Currently 9 Comments »

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