So Just How Did Hoboken Condo Sales Stack Up Over the Past 10 Years?
Categories: Finance, For Buyers, For Sellers, Hoboken Condos, Market Analysis
by Lori Turoff – [email protected]
Average Sales Price for Hoboken Condos – The Past 10 Years
Here is a chart showing the average and median price of a Hoboken condo over the past ten years:
(Note – the charts are all links. Click to see a bigger image).
How Have Prices of Condos Sold Changed in Hoboken Over the Years?
This chart shows the percentage increase in Hoboken condo average sales price and median sales price for the past ten years:
Hoboken – Well, It Could Be Much Worse
The good news is that we’re still in positive numbers, unlike much of the country. The bad news, obviously, is that the increase rapidly shrunk.
Are The Deals Getting Done?
The next two charts show that transactions have fallen off steeply this past year:
Finally, here is the percentage change in the number of deals done from year to year:
There are some very good explanations for the freeze in the Hoboken real estate market. Here are the two principal ones that I’ve heard bandied about quite a bit recently:
- Sellers who don’t have to sell think it’s better to wait until the market picks up.
Well, that’s great except what if the market continues to fall? Unless the seller can really wait 5 to 10 years, which is how long it may take for the market to stabilize, never mind recover, it may be better off to cut your losses and get out with what you can. Also, if buying elsewhere, as so many young Hoboken couple with babies do as they move to the ‘burbs, the seller will pay less for the purchased property making up for some or all of their loss. Often, they are not even selling at a loss, they are just not realizing as large a gain as they might have made a year ago.
- Buyers think properties are overpriced and are waiting for prices to drop.
It is possible that prices will continue to fall. Many respectable people are of that opinion. But the truth is that nobody really knows for sure how much further there is to go until we hit bottom and how long that might take. Something for the buyer to consider is this – if the price of a property drops another 10% but interest rates go up a point am I better or worse off? Just as we cannot know for sure where prices are headed, even when the trend looks downward. The cost of borrowing, availability of credit and a buyers ability to qualify for a loan is are crucial factors to consider in today’s market.
What Would You Do?
I’ve tried creating a survey but haven’t quite figured it out so I’ll keep the question open ended. Let’s say, for whatever reason, you simply must sell – getting transfered, want kids to go to school in the ‘burbs, too little space, what ever. When would you put your place on the market? Right now? In 6 months? in 2010 or later? Never – would you just rent it out? On the other hand, let’s pretend you want to buy. Would you do it right away or wait? If so, how long would you wait? Let me know what you think. Thanks!
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