Hoboken Real Estate Monitor

New York and California join Class Action Settlement Against Mortgage Companies

2012-02-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

This article appears today in USA Today. Various states have sued the largest mortgage originators: Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Wells and Ally. The settlement will allow homeowners who were given mortgages under deceptive practices assistance with reducing their mortgages and refinancing.

I was a mortgage underwriting for Chase back in the early 90's and have written $750,000,000 in mortgage loans so I am very familiar with the process.

Most of the fraud was perpetrated not by the banks' themselves who are under the eye of the OCC but by mortgage brokers and correspondents who underwrite the loan and then sell the closed product to the large banks. Mortgage Finance companies were not under the eye of the OCC or any federal agency but are monitored at a state level. The department of Banking and Real Estate literally has 2 investigators - no way could they really monitor these institutions.

I, myself, have come across two homeowners who not only bought at the peak of the market but overpaid substantially at that time. One shared his appraisal and it was complete garbage. They sued the appraiser and won. The appraiser lost his license, but unfortunately it still left my client was in a hole so deep he couldn't get out of it. The bank actually refused to foreclose because they didn't want the carrying costs. After 3 years it's still in default and still in the process of foreclosure.

What it could mean for the rest of us, is the real beginning of putting the crash of 2008 behind us. The shadow inventory will finally be able to come on the market and sell. This along with the great news about unemployment makes me think that we are turning the corner on a very difficult period in our economic life. Go USA!!

Here is the article from USA Today.... Enjoy

California and New York have agreed to join a federal-state settlement involving alleged deceptive practices by five leading mortgage servicing companies that could reach $25 billion.

New York and California were two of the most prominent holdouts from the settlement, which could be announced as soon as Thursday and has been under discussion for almost a year. As of Monday, more than 40 states had signed on to the deal.

The addition of California, the state with the most foreclosures, means the settlement is more likely to hit the $25 billion mark that has long been reported as the expected total.

As of late Wednesday, negotiations were continuing, said officials close to the talks who requested that they not be named because of the sensitivity of the discussions. Previous forecasts that negotiators were close to announcing a deal did not come true.

The settlement, which would be the biggest for the mortgage servicing industry, is expected to provide:

•About $17 billion for principal reduction for about 1 million borrowers.

•$3 billion to help hundreds of thousands more borrowers refinance into lower interest rate loans.

The servicers involved in the deal are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial.•$1.35 billion in cash for hundreds of thousands of other borrowers harmed by improper mortgage servicing practices of the five largest servicers.

Other servicers are likely to join the deal in the future, state officials have said.

A monitor will be appointed to oversee the agreement.

Along with financial costs, the settlement is expected to create what supporters say are the strictest standards to date for how mortgage servicers should treat distressed home loan borrowers in the future.

Negotiations leading up to the settlement followed revelations in 2010 that many foreclosures were not properly carried out.

Support for the settlement by so many states increases chances that it'll be viewed as a win for the state attorneys general.

It also arms the Obama administration with more ammunition for its claims that it's adequately addressing the U.S. foreclosure crisis.

But the settlement also falls far short of fixing all that went wrong in the U.S. mortgage industry, after risky loans were extended to millions who couldn't afford their homes. That helped lead to a collapse in U.S. home prices, which are down an average of 33% nationwide since 2006.

The settlement will not compensate the vast majority of U.S. homeowners who have seen their home values plummet, but kept making payments.

Instead, the bulk of the settlement will help homeowners who are on the brink of foreclosure — but have also continued to make their payments — with principal reductions.

Information provided by Donna Antonucci

Prudential Castle Point Realty

201-240-6832

donna@donnaantonucci.com

www.donnaantonucci.com

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Open House and New Listing Map from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com - 2/8/2012

2012-02-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

We will be checking Craig's list, realtor sites, the MLS again later in the week so check back.

We now have listings for For Sale by Owner and Non-Internet listings in the private view of the map. Sign up today and get the most complete, easy to use open house and new listings map covering both Hoboken and downtown Jersey City. If you get a listing on the private view that lacks a link look on the right for the For Sale By Owner and Non-Internet Listings icon. We will be integrating this over the next week or so.

Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Open House Map

Walk around Hoboken on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, looking at real estate. Get an idea of what your dollar can buy, in what part of town, with what amenity level. The map is refreshed through Thursday afternoon so be sure to stop by again before your weekend search. Sort by price, number of bedrooms or day of week! By subscribing, you will be able to not only get the basics - price, number of bedrooms, and street location but will get the unit number, and the full Multiple Listing Service listing with photos, square footage and more. . . .

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

h http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Pantone announces the 2012 Color of the Year - Tangerine Tango - Will it be in your wardrobe? Will it be in your home?

2012-02-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year again, when researchers at the Pantone Color Institute released the 2012 Color of the Year. After analyzing the emerging trends from the home, fashion, sports and entertainment industries they determined the ideal color choice for the New Year is Tangerine Tango.

Will you end up with this color in your wardrobe, a new lipstick or accent pillows?

According to executive director Leatrice Eisman at Pantone this is why they selected this reddish-orange color for 2012.

“…the current economic climate and frustrations call for something bolder this coming year. Pantone has turned to the “spirited reddish-orange” hue to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.” Orange signals not only vitality, but also urgency and strength—associations that should resonate in a year where many are hoping to finally start seeing changes. “There’s the element of encouragement with orange”.

Here is a quick flashback into the past decade of Pantone’s Color of the Year.

Whether used a lot or a little – this reddish orange color instantly infuses high energy into your home’s interior. It is an energizing lively and invigorating warm hue, which evokes enthusiasm, self-confidence and creativity. Tangerine Tango pairs beautifully with many color stories and works beautifully with black, white, cream, grey, brown, khaki and blue.

Why not update your foyer, living room, dining room, or bedroom with a boost of Vitamin C? Accessorizing with vases, throws, lamps, pillows and linens is all you will need to freshen up your home for 2012.

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832
donna@donnaantonucci.com
www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Open House and New Listings Map from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com for January 31, 2012

2012-02-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

We will be checking Craig's list, realtor sites, the MLS again later in the week so check back.

We now have listings for For Sale by Owner and Non-Internet listings in the private view of the map. Sign up today and get the most complete, easy to use open house and new listings map covering both Hoboken and downtown Jersey City. If you get a listing on the private view that lacks a link look on the right for the For Sale By Owner and Non-Internet Listings icon. We will be integrating this over the next week or so.

Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Open House Map

Walk around Hoboken on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, looking at real estate. Get an idea of what your dollar can buy, in what part of town, with what amenity level. The map is refreshed through Thursday afternoon so be sure to stop by again before your weekend search. Sort by price, number of bedrooms or day of week! By subscribing, you will be able to not only get the basics - price, number of bedrooms, and street location but will get the unit number, and the full Multiple Listing Service listing with photos, square footage and more. . . .

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

h http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 01/25/2012

2012-01-26T06:03:00.000-08:00

Weekly stats for Hoboken - 1/25/2012

2012-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.
Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.
Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.Hoboken Stats 1-18-2012 Private Format Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!
See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com
donna@donnaantonucci.com

Update: 1600 Park, Hudson Cove and Harboside Park

2012-01-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

The city presented its latest conceptual design for the soccer field at 1600 Park to about 60 interested citizens, officials and stakeholders in the basement of City Hall on Monday night.

The field—originally scheduled to open in the Fall of 2011—will be opened this year, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said. The city will start the bidding process this spring to find a company to start renovating the park, located at 16th and Park Avenue.

"It'd be ideal to have it in the Fall," said Director of Health and Human Services Leo Pellegrini, in time for the start of the season of the city's recreational leagues.

Zimmer said that the soccer field at Sinatra Park will also see construction this year. The contract to hire a construction firm for that field will be on the city council's agenda at the first meeting in February.

Several drawings were presented on Monday night by landscape architect John Imbiano, of the firm Imbiano and Quigley, which was hired by the city for this project. Citizens expressed some of their wishes—a dog run, enough restrooms—and provided feedback to the drawings.

One of the initial problems at the park was contamination of the soil there, which would have had to be solved by raising the soccer field and surround it with a seven-foot-wall. This option raised concerns from parents (who found it unsafe) as well as members of the stakeholder committee (who didn't find it aesthetically pleasing).

"The stakeholders went to the mayor and said 'stop,'" said Jim Vance, who represents the Fund for a Better Waterfront on the stakeholder group. After that, Vance continued, Imbiano helped create a new design.

The contaminated soil will be moved from the soccer field site, said Director of Community Development Brandy Forbes. She could not say on Monday with what the soil was contaminated.

The new park will be paid for with a Green Acres grant, Forbes said also. The city has $1.7 million to construct the soccer field at 1600 Park and $1 million to renovate the Hoboken Cove.

Another reason the opening of 1600 Park was delayed last year, was the lack of a traffic signal at the intersection of 16th Street and Park Avenue. The park will still not open without it, city directors said. The city and the county are currently in the process of coordinating the placement of the traffic light before the park opens.

Information Provided by:

Donna Antonucci

201-240-6832

Prudential Castle Point Realty

www.donnaantonucci.com
www.hobokenrealesetatemonitor.com

donna@donnaantonucci.com

Introducing The Monitor Listings Search Engine from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com

2012-01-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

I am very proud to present The Monitor Listings Search Engine..... Fueled by the Hudson County MLS and augmented with data from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com, it's the most comprehensive real estate database in Hudson County.

www.search.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/map/ Here is the link to the map directly. Bookmark it!

By watching when listings come on the MLS feed and tracking price changes, my engine offers price history information which is not available on sites like Trulia, Zillow, etc. Understand the mind set of the seller. Are they ready to sell? Have they tested the market and reconciled with what their place is worth in today's market vs what they hoped to get for their place? We also calculate the number of days on market.

Click to Enlarge....
See lower left for price history. Notice days on Market, Taxes and HOA are included in our listing details.

I also offer tax information. Trulia and Zillow do not provide tax information. My info is augmented with the latest tax information on a property. Also included is Home Owners Association dues information. This may or may not be provided on Trulia and Zillow - only if it's manually updated by the agent or owner. Is it accurate on Trulia and Zillow? Trulia and Zillow has no way of validating any of the information entered by agents or owners. It does not come across from the MLS feed. Understand the real costs for a given property. What will your monthly payment be exactly? Does it fit your budget?

The new tool allows you to sign up for alerts. Whenever a new property comes on the market that meets your search criteria, an email alert will be sent to you. You can save your favorite properties and multiple searches.

Search using the outline tools..... Are there certain streets and neighborhoods you are interested in and you don't want listings outside that area? Do you want a certain area that cuts across zip codes and towns? Use the mapping tool to outline the specific area of interest. You will only get listings within that area and you can have alerts set up based on that area of interest.

Also on the map view, colored icons differentiate between different types of listings. Each week we'll update the map to show which units are having open houses, which are new to the market. Open houses will be marked with the now familiar balloon icon colored by the number of bedrooms or property type.

Are you planning on a day of house hunting? Search the open houses by day, print flyers and a summary sheet to guide your day of shopping.

New listings are differentiated with it's own "house" icon so you can quickly find what is new to the market. All other active listings are identified with circles colored by the number of bedrooms.

The search engine covers both sales and rentals. To isolate rentals from sales, put in an appropriate price range and hit enter or use your mouse to click on the search icon.

Your results can be viewed as icons on the map or in list view. Click on the icon on the map or the individual property on the list view to get to property details.

List View of Search Results

If a property is not listed with the MLS, it will be indicated as such. Understand that agents who are members of the Multiple Listing Service agree to data quality standards. Our dues and listings fees support an administration that polices our listings and fines are levied on agents who are found breaking these rules. We have to have pictures that are from the unit and no other. The square footage has to come from a reliable source like the tax records. We must change the status of a listing within 24 hours of closing so you are not looking at a listing that is no longer available and so on. All this means that data coming from an MLS listing is more reliable than a for sale by owner or an agent who is independently uploading a listing to Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, etc. Any non-MLS listings on my search engine are clearly marked so you know what you are dealing with....caveat emptier.

This is only phase one. We are diligently working on more exciting features, so stay tuned. Please sign up and feel free to send what ever feedback you have about what you like and don't like. I love hearing from my readers.

Thanks so much.
Donna

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donna@donnaantonucci.com
www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 01/18/2012

2012-01-20T03:49:00.000-08:00

Weekly stats for Hoboken - 1/18/2012

2012-01-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com
donna@donnaantonucci.com

Weekly stats for Hoboken - 1/13/2012

2012-01-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.
Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.
Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.Hoboken Stats 1-11-2012 Private Format Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!
See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com
donna@donnaantonucci.com

Consumer borrowing surges as economy improves

2012-01-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Business Week, by MARTIN CRUTSINGER

WASHINGTON

Americans are feeling confident enough in the economy to go back to a time-honored tradition -- taking on a little extra debt.

Consumer borrowing surged in November by $20.4 billion, the Federal Reserve said Monday. It was the third straight increase and the largest monthly gain in a decade.

The jump in borrowing was largely because people took out more loans to buy cars and swiped their credit cards frequently to purchase holiday gifts.

In November, total consumer borrowing rose to seasonally adjusted $2.48 trillion. That's nearly at pre-recession levels and up from a post-recession low point of $2.39 billion reached in September 2010. Borrowing had tumbled for more than two years during and immediately after the recession.
Since then, consumers have increased their borrowing in 13 of the past 14 months. Americans are taking on more debt after seeing the unemployment rate drop and the economy improve, albeit modestly. Many are also leaning on their credit cards and loans to make up for wages that haven't kept pace with inflation this year.

Holiday sales were solid in November, and the U.S. auto industry had its two best sales months for the year in November and December. The Fed's credit report appeared to reflect those sales.
The category that measures credit card debt rose in November by $5.6 billion, the most since March 2008. The gauge that tracks auto loans and student loans increased $14.8 billion, nearly matching July's gain that was the biggest since February 2005.

Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University, said many consumers were likely persuaded by incentives that retailers and auto dealers offered to boost sales.

Still, Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight, expressed concern that consumers may have relied on their credit cards to finance holiday purchases.

The rise in borrowing comes as many consumers are seeing little to no growth in their paychecks. Inflation-adjusted, after-tax incomes shrank by nearly 2 percent in the July-September period.
To make up the difference, many consumers have reduced the amount they save. The savings rate fell in November to 3.5 percent -- the lowest level since the recession began. The savings rate jumped in 2008 to 5 percent and stayed above that level until early last year.

Sohn said he expects the savings rate to level off near November's level. He also said the increase in consumer demand should prompt businesses to hire more workers. Those gains would allow consumers to finance their spending with rising incomes.

In December, employers added 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the government said Friday. It was the sixth month in a row that the economy had added at least 100,000 jobs, the longest streak since 2006. And the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly three years.

With more jobs and better pay, consumers could step up spending even further. That could lead more companies to add workers, which ultimately drives more spending and more hiring. Economists call that a virtuous cycle.

Still, a recession in Europe could dampen demand for U.S. exports and weaken financial markets.
The Federal Reserve's borrowing report covers auto loans, student loans and credit cards. It excludes mortgages, home equity loans and other loans tied to real estate.

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donna@donnaantonucci.com

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Why do Tax Appeals Fail? How can you appeal your taxes successfully?

2012-01-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

April 1st Filing Deadline to Appeal Your Property Taxes . . .

Want to appeal your taxes on your own and all you need are the right comparables sales? The deadline for filing is April 1st ie the paperwork has to be received by the county by April 1st.

The number one reason why a tax appeal fails is because the applicant does not have comparable sales that demonstrate the current value of the subject. It's not enough to find a unit that is the same size in the same town that is at a lower price point. In a walking town, like Hoboken, proximity is extremely important as is condition, building style and amenity. The comps are at the core of proving your home is over assessed and therefore warrants a reduction.

To win a tax appeal you have to prove your home is not worth what it was the last time it was assessed. Every time a home is sold, the assessed value is readjusted based on the sale price. The assessed value is a function of the market value.

One of the most common errors in making a tax appeal is using the wrong comparable sales. The comp has to be dated within a specific time period, has to be similar in features both in terms of the building and the unit, space and of course, location, location, location. In a walking town like Hoboken, blocks matter. It takes about an hour to pull the comps and make defendable adjustments for differences. It's important that you understand these judgments so that you can make your case to the assessor.

Unless you go to the County Recorder's office and look up closings manually, most public closing databases are 6 months old and even if you had easy access, other than the lot size or square footage the tax record in not going to have any photos or description. How can you tell it's the correct comp? How can you prove it to the Tax Assessor?

The comps have to be dated after October 1 for the April 1st deadline to file in a given year. This year it could be quite a challenge. If your home is somewhat unique in size and amenity, it will make it even tougher to find good comps. You have to widen the scope of the search and make adjustments for differences. Real estate is incredibly localized and real estate agents generally know the market better than appraisers. On average, it takes about an hour to find the right comps, evaluate and provide a rationale for differences and and assign values to those differences.

I am not an attorney and do not offer legal advice but what I can do is provide access to the tax appeal forms, the government provided instructions and access to comparable sales so that you can apply for the appeal yourself. I did it myself last year and saved over $1,100.

Attorneys typically charge 1/3 of your savings which can be substantial depending on the size of your home and the decrease in value. Attorneys can represent you at the appeal but often times still ask you to find your own comparable sales. Appraisers charge $350 - $450 and may go with you to the appeal not as your representative but as an expert on property valuation.

I represented myself and won an approximate $1,100 reduction of my property taxes and my place is small - 585 square feet on Washington and 10th in Hoboken! If I hired an attorney that would have cost me $363 and potentially another $350 - 450 for the appraiser. I would have been left with only about $290 in savings - frankly not worth the time to bother.

Don't be afraid to represent yourself. The instructions are self evident. It's a simple 1 page form. I will be happy to go over the form with you and show you where you can find pertinent data elements on your tax record to complete it. See below for the form and instructions.

I charge $100 for comparable sales.

I accept cash or Paypal only. Please call 201-240-6832 or email me at donna@donnaantonucci.com today, to make an appointment.

The deadline for submitting your tax appeal form to the County Clerk is April 1st, 2012 and the comparable sales must be dated prior to October 1, 2011. There is no advantage in waiting for the deadline. In fact, if you submit your appeal early, you will be higher up in the line to meet with the assessor.

Here is the form and the instructions:
Tax Appeal Form

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Year 2011 Market Analysis Report for Monthly Home Prices per square feet

2012-01-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the volume graph above. You can see the one bed room has the highest price per square feet on average. One bedroom volume is considerably lower than 2 bedroom volume so one or two outlier transactions in a month can skew the results. I like to look at 2 bedroom PPSQFT numbers because the transaction volume is the highest. To understand how the PPSQFT is changing, the best thing to do is a regression analysis to run a line averaging out the change in PPSQT. Or, we can look at absorption rate. Going forward our weekly stats will look at this.

Absorption rate is the measurement of current active listings in the market divided by the number of listings sold in the last week.

A simpler way to express this is to say the number of weeks that the market will need for the foreseeable future. As you can see in the table in week 1 of 2011, the market needed 189 weeks to sell all the active listings. By the end of 2011 that was down to 13 weeks - unheard of. When the inventory is so low, it puts pressure on prices which could explain the uptick in the PPSQFT for 2 bedrooms - the bedroom group that has enough transactions to be statistically significant.

We have 24 new listings in Hoboken since the beginning of the year. By day 9 last year, we had nearly double that. If inventory levels continue to ride at this low level prices will bid up.

On the start of year 2011 Price per square was normal but March, April and June 2011 are having highest prices per square feet for one bedroom. Prices of one bed room homes are declined considerably May through August 2011. In Last quarter there was a mix trend for PPSQ. Because I look at sales based on contract date, we'll report December sale PPSQFT in the Q1 report.

This year, Prices per square for 2 bedroom units are almost equal to 1 bedroom on average. Year 2011 started with low price for 2 bedroom units and then in mid of the year (March, April and may) prices per square feet for 2 bedroom units were on peak. After that there was a down fall in prices of 2 bed room units. Which then started to grow steadily in the months of September. There is a huge increase in PPSQ in October and November 2011. November 2011 was highest PPSQ for 2 bedroom units on average.

Price per square feet for 3 bedrooms swings during year 2011. There are so many ups and downs in prices. This is due to the relatively low volume in terms of units. Location within town, amenity and finish level differences in a small sample set can create these kinds of swings. The months of May and June had the highest prices per square feet for 3 bedroom units. October and November were lowest PPSQ for 3 bedrooms on average.

Here is a chart for month to month price per square feet for home sales from Jan 2011 to December 2011

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Jersey City Downtown Weekly Updated Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details 01/06/2012

2012-01-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Downtown Jersey City Weekly statistics from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.

Hoboken's Weekly Statistics will continue to be posted on Thursday mornings. Downtown JC stats will be posted on Fridays. In addition to posting them, the latest version will be available through the Weekly Statistics Icon on the right vertical nav bar.

Here is the link to the Downtown Jersey City statistics:

Downtown JC Stats

The statistics contain links to the listings that compiled the price per square foot so you can see exactly what amenity and finish level are included. They contain live links to all Active, Under Contract and Sold listings.

Each week the new listings for the week will be in separate links by neighborhood so you can quickly see what came on the market in a given week.

The Downtown Jersey City Statistics are broken down at the neighborhood level:

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

The first rule in real estate is location, location, location. By breaking down the downtown areas into neighborhoods, you get a much finer understanding of the price per square in the specific area where you are looking .

If you use price per square foot as a measure, it really tells you which areas are more sought after than others. The more desirable - convenient to public transportation, restaurants and shops, etc. - the higher the price per square foot. Likewise, if you are willing to go to an up and coming area v an established neighborhood, you can get more space for your money.

JC Stats Public

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Hoboken Weekly Updates - Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details 01/05/2012

2012-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Weekly Stats Public 2009

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

2011 Year Review for Monthly Home Sales

2012-01-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Volume was much lower in 2011 as compared to 2010. We closed 678 condos in Hoboken last year vs 742 the year before. This is a significant difference.

We ended the year with less than 300 active listings. Which is highly unusual. The year before we had over 500 active listings on the Hoboken market. Again, I believe it's because those who bought in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are underwater and are holding out. Many cannot get a mortgage for their next purchase so they are staying put.

However, this constriction in supply could mean increase in prices for those that go on the market at an appropriate price. Will those who refuse to let go of 2008 pricing find themselves in a deeper hole? Or, will the constriction in supply bid up prices enough for them to move forward with their sale?

Take a look at the volume graph above. You can see the Two bed rooms have the highest sales in average for 2011 which is typical for Hobken. The two bedroom is the most versitile for Hoboken's audience. A two bed is good for roommates, that young professional that wants a home office, a newly married couple and for the couple with their first child.

From the beginning of the year 2 bedroom sales were too high. Q2 and Q3 was highest sales month for 2 bedroom units. Q4 was lowest 2 bedroom sales for 2011.

In 2011, Sales of 1 bedroom units were almost half of 2 bedroom units on average. There was a quick start of the year. Q2 and Q3 were highest sales period. Q4 was lowest 2 bedroom sales for 2011.

Home sales for 3 bedrooms were lowest for 2011. There was a normal start of year for 3 bedroom home sales. Q1 to Q3 there was almost same trend of sales. In Q4 There was a decline in sales.

Here is a chart for home sales from Jan 2011 to December 2011

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 01/04/2012

2012-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

2011 Year in Review - What do the numbers say about the direction of the market?

2012-01-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the break down of last year's real estate market in Hoboken. Real estate is extremely localized and each market behaves differently. Hoboken continues to do better relative to other areas in Hudson County. In fact, it has had the least amount of decline in the state but it is not insulated from our sluggish economy.

The story for 2011 is one of less volume. We had 678 condo sales through the MLS last year down from 2010 where we had 742. Why was 2011 poorer than 2010? Available listings were also down month over month last year. We ended the year with 292 active listings where at the end of 2010 we had just over 500.

I believe the volume is down because there are so many home owners who bought during the peak years of 2006, 2007 and 2008 who cannot sell. They can't sell because the mortgage + selling costs equal more than what they can get for their property today.

The cycle in Hoboken for many is they come here when they are single, meet, marry have kids and run out of space. Either they get a bigger place in Hoboken and hold out on the burbs or they move to the suburbs where they can get a bigger space with a backyard for their money. Many of these people who are ready to sell bought during those peak years and can't sell now. Or, they can't qualify for a mortgage under the new stringent underwriting criteria.

Also what's interesting is the time from listing to contract is also down overall vs. last year. It's an average of 67 days vs a little over 72 for last year. I believe this is because those who did not buy in 2006, 2007, 2008 are pricing their properties correctly for today's market and it's hastening the process.

You may have heard that in real estate prices are sticky. People are reluctant to take a loss and would prefer to hold rather than sell at a loss. I think that's what's happening here. In 2009 and 2010 more people were attempting to sell their property at the price they wanted for it rather than what it was worth and as a result the home was staying on the market longer. I think the spread between what a home was purchased for in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and today's prices has widened and sellers can no longer hope to make up that gap. So, instead of listing and sitting they are just sitting.

The market will move on without them. In a transient locale such as Hoboken, those that bought prior to 2006 and after 2008 will continue to buy and sell and it will take a very long time to reach that peak pricing again. Some experts say 10 years. Can they wait 10 years? Or will they have to take a loss to move on?

Anecdotally, listings are up, at least for me. I am seeing more investors enter the market to buy condos for investment purposes - to rent them out. This is typically an excellent sign for the supposed bottom of the market. The rental market is hot and investors are starting to see the right relationship between purchase prices and rents.

When tracking results by month, I use contract date. The date a home goes under contract is when the buyer and seller have come together on the price.

It's a better reflection of the market then tracking by sold date. We only review properties that sold so there will be a lag in our reporting but in the end I think it's a more accurate depiction of what's going on.

According to 2011 Yearly Market Analysis, in first quarter home sale was normal. Year took a slow start. January was lowest home sales month in first quarter and March was highest home sales month.

2 bedroom unit homes sales were on first place in the whole quarter. In the whole first quarter 1 bedroom unit homes were having highest price per square feet and average discount. 2 bedroom units were on second place.

Now look at the second quarter of 2011. 2^nd quarter had the highest homes sale of year.

Second quarter 2 bed units got highest sales and 1 bed room unit got highest average discount. Average price per square feet was a little high in second quarter. Average homes price were having mix trend in second quarter.

In 3rd Quarter there was a little decline in sales but overall there were enough sales. Q3 was on 2nd number as compare to home sales. Third quarter 2 bed units got highest sales and there is a mix trend for average discount.

Quarter 4th was lowest and slowest homes sales period. There was some units that went under contract in October but in November transaction volume slowed for the holidays as usual. Well, it slowed a little more than usual. One thing is very important in this quarter. Surprisingly, There was huge discount on all property, almost highest of the year.

In my next installment you will see the unit and sales volume that will also show you that 2011 was a tough year for sellers.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

JC Downtown Real Estate Absorption Rate

2012-01-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

Many people have opinions on the state of the housing market, but the easiest way to understand current and future conditions is to monitor the movements in the real estate absorption rate. Mathematically, this is the measurement of Current Active listing in the market divided by the number of listings sold in last week.

A simpler way to express the definition of the real estate absorption rate is to say it is the number of weeks that the market will need for the foreseeable future. So how do we put this into perspective. Consider this: The typical home seller would like to move within two to four months of placing their home on the market, so over time, we have developed expectations in real estate and have defined situations as follows:

Sellers Market: 1-40 Weeks supply of homes
Neutral Market: 40 to 50 Weeks supply of homes
Buyers Market: More than 50 Weeks supply of homes

As Shown in table, Week 1 to week 23 Inventory was high and sales was low. That was Buyers Market Period.

In the real estate graph above, Current active listings is measured in Blue, Weekly sales in red, and the green vertical bars show the real estate absorption rate. In the simplest sense, this means if nobody puts another home on the market ever again, we still have enough for sale to satisfy all buyers for the next year! That is a lot, and I suspect more will be hitting the market over the next year.

2011 Year in Review - Downtown JC 1-4 Family Sales

2012-01-03T05:46:00.000-08:00

Click the image to Enlarge

The average length of time it took to sell a 1-4 family home in Downtown JC was 82 days with a discount off of original list price of 9.75%. Notice the correlation between length of time to sell and discount off original price. If you price it for today's market it will sell. If not, it will sit there until you do.

Click here to down load the spreadsheet.

JC - 1-4 Family Sales 2011

2011 - Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com - Year in Review

2012-01-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

Here is part One of my 6 part series on the year in review. We worked over the weekend to delivery the most comprehensive review of Hoboken's real estate sales for 2011. Enjoy the first installment on Hoboken's beautiful Victorian homes. ...

We have had 53 1-4 family sales in 2011. The 'days on market' was 67 days from the time listed to the closed. The average discount off of original price was 7.98%. Notice the relationship between discount off of original price and days on market. If something is priced correctly, it moves. If it's not, it doesn't. It's as simple as that. When you decide to move, how long do you want to carry the property and have people coming through your private space when you are trying to sell. Price it correctly and you will get what it will sell for in the end with less inconvenience and carrying costs.

Click on the image to enlarge.

As a downloadable spreadsheet:1-4 Families Sold 2011

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832
donna@donnaantonucci.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
www.donnaantonucci.com

Anyone looking for a furnished rental? 10th & Washington - $2,500/month

2011-12-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

Photo Gallery

Equal Housing Opportunity

VFLYER ID: 58859001

All information in this site is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and is subject to change

This furnished rental will be available April 1st. Know anyone who is looking? Minimum 6 month lease.

Call me if you are interested:

Donna Antonucci
201-240-6832
donna@donnaantonucci.com

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 01/01/2012

2011-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Severe Weather - 6 Hour Rain Storm - How much will the new pump Mitigate flooding?

2011-12-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

High tide is at 10:29 tonight. It's been raining since about 4:00 PM today and still raining. Low water will be at 4:32 AM and then high again at 10:43 AM tomorrow.

Let's see what the streets are like in the morning.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
203 Washington St.
201-240-6832

donna@donnaantonucci.com
www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Consumer Price Index - Hoboken has rent control - How much can a Landlord increase the rent upon lease renewal?

2011-12-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

Landlords: Be aware that Hoboken has a rent control ordinance. You are allowed to increase the rent each year based on the CPI. The chart above has been supplied by Hoboken's Rent Leveling Department.

You also need to issue your Tenant a disclosure that makes them aware Hoboken has a rent control ordinance. They have 2 years from the time that disclosure is signed to make a complaint of overcharge in rent. After the 2 years, if they discover they were overcharged they can make you roll the rent back to what it should have been but they cannot back overpayments.

Consult an attorney on all legal matters....

To learn more read Hoboken's rent control ordinance itself. Click here to see the ordinance.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
203 Washington St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com
donna@donnaantonucci.com
201-240-6832

Happy Holidays from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com

2011-12-19T14:49:00.001-08:00

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.hobokenrealestatevalue.com/

http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

How can you tell if it's a Buyers or Sellers Market?

2011-12-19T05:21:00.000-08:00

A simpler way to express the definition of the real estate absorption rate is to say it is the number of weeks that the market will need for the foreseeable future. As you can see in table in week 1 of 2011 Market needs 189 weeks to sell all the active listings. In second week of 2011 Market need 75 weeks to sell all the active listings.

So how do we put this into perspective. Consider this: The typical home seller would like to move within two to four months of placing their home on the market, so over time, we have developed expectations in real estate and have defined situations as follows:

Sellers Market: 1-40 Weeks supply of homes
Neutral Market: 40 to 50 Weeks supply of homes
Buyers Market: More than 50 Weeks supply of homes

As shown in table, Week 1 to week 13 Inventory was high and sales was low. That was Buyers Market period.

13 to 23^rd week Inventory was almost same but sales was high. That was Sellers Market period.

33 to 43^rd Week Inventory were normal and sale was normal. That was Neutral Market period.

As Shown in table, Week 1 to week 23 Inventory was high and sales was low. That was Buyers Market Period.

Provided by Donna Antonucci

Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

h http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 12/18/2011

2011-12-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 12/11/2011

2011-12-07T07:40:00.001-08:00

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 12/04/2011

2011-11-30T06:09:00.001-08:00

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 11/27/2011

2011-11-23T08:39:00.001-08:00

Gobble Gobble, It's Thanksgiving!...Gobble Gobble

2011-11-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
h http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 11/20/2011

2011-11-16T09:32:00.001-08:00

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 11/13/2011

2011-11-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

Rent Control Referendum Fails.... Amendment Changes Passed Unanimously in April Go Into Effect

2011-11-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

Just in case any of you missed what was going on... back in April the City Council unanimously passed an Ordinance the amended Hoboken's Rent Control Ordinance to add better controls and limits to rent control disputes back in April. A group of long term Tenants challenged it by getting enough petition signatures within the requisite time from when the amendments passed to put the question to a public vote by way of referendum.

The question on the ballot was asking 'do you wish to reverse the April changes'? The public answered with a resounding "NO".

The changes in April in a nutshell were as follows:

The amendment reset the base year from which rent increases were calculated from 1981 to 1985 based on the belief that the amendment that went into effect in 1981 lacked an adequate registration process opening up the Ordinance for lack of clarity on what was the proper base rent - ie if someone didn't properly record the 1981 rent, how could it be enforced?

The amendment in April also required Landlords to provide a disclosure, disclosing that Hoboken has a rent control Ordinance giving the Tenant 2 years to investigate and file a claim of non-legal rent. That is, the Landlord has to inform the Tenant that rent control exists and the Tenant has 2 years to put in a claim that they were over charged. In the event the Tenant does not act in that period, he/she can file a claim and have the rent rolled back to the proper amount but cannot collect overpayments.

The way the original Ordinance was written the word "Tenant" was not limited to who was in the apartment at the time the claim was made but included all Tenants back to the point where a proper rent was documented and charged. For example, if a Tenant files a claim of overpayment and he was in the apartment for let's say, 13 months but a legal rent has not been charged or documented for 10 years spanning 5 Tenants, under the old Ordinance, the current Tenant was entitled to collect over payments not just for 13 months but 10 years and 5 Tenants back. The amendment changes put in in April that will now be implemented prevent this win fall for Tenants and protect Landlords who may have unwittingly bought a property not knowing that rents have not been charged properly.

Part of the rationale was that a courts case involving the rent control ordinance showed that the city, at times, failed to keep proper records even though the Landlord could evidence in court that proper papers were filed. There really was no sure fire way of being able to determine prior to purchase that proper rents were being charged. These amendments attempt to amicably resolve the conflict created by poor city record keeping yet giving Tenants some recourse to act in a reasonable timeframe.

It also allows a landlord to use alternate proof other than having registered annual rents with the city, to prove the rental history. Previously, you were suppose to fill out a form where you stated what rents your are charging. If a Tenant moved out and the landlord were to move in and move out again the landlord could have raised the rent by 25% based on the vacancy decontrol rules. Many landlords did not file this paperwork but increased the rent. Because they had not filed the vacancy decontrol paperwork, the city would not give them credit for having lived in the unit and landlords were found to charged too much rent even though they had lived in the unit and had they only filed the form the rent charged would have been legal. Landlord's can now use alternate proof such as fully executed leases.

Keep original Lease copies.

I always tell my clients you want original lease copies at the end of the lease process. I know people have scanners and fax machines and you can use that to receive a lease from a new Tenant in order to stop showing the property but in the end you want to make sure all parties have a fully executed lease copy. This is a good reason why. You need to hold onto your originals until you sell the property.

As soon as the new amendment is codified, I will update my rent control section on the lower right of the home page with the new ordinance.

Here are some prior articles on rent control.

As usual, information here is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Please consult an attorney on the interpretation of the law and all legal matters.

Proposed Rent Control Changes (Article posted prior to April 2011 Amendment)

Proposed Rent Control Ordinance

Rent Leveling Disclosure

Information provided by
Donna Antonucci
201-240-6832

donna@donnaantonucci.com

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Staging Can Make Such a Difference in Presenting Your Home for Sale...

2011-11-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a brief video that shows you just how much staging can make a difference. Instead of seeing a dimly lit room or worse, clutter, they see how the room can be set up once they move in.

Information provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
donnaantonucci@gmail.com

201-240-6832

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com 11/06/2011

2011-11-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Why Do Some Tax Appeals Fail? . . . . . .

2011-11-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

April 1st Filing Deadline to Appeal Your Property Taxes . . .

Want to appeal your taxes on your own and all you need are the right comparables sales? The deadline for filing is April 1st ie the paperwork has to be received by the county by April 1st.

To win a tax appeal you have to prove your home is not worth what it was the last time it was assessed. Every time a home is sold, the assessed value is readjusted based on the sale price. The assessed value is a function of the market value.

One of the most common errors in making a tax appeal is using the wrong comparable sales. The comp has to be dated within a specific time period, has to be similar in features both in terms of the building and the unit, space and of course, location, location, location. In a walking town like Hoboken, blocks matter. It takes about an hour to pull the comps and make defendable adjustments for differences. It's important that you understand these judgments so that you can make your case to the assessor.

Unless you go to the County Recorder's office and look up closings manually, most public closing databases are 6 months old and even if you had easy access, other than the lot size or square footage the tax record in not going to have any photos or description. How can you tell it's the correct comp? How can you prove it to the Tax Assessor?

The comps have to be dated after October 1 for the April 1st deadline to file in a given year. This year it could be quite a challenge. As you may recall from my "2010 Year in Review" article, volume was way down in Q3 and Q4. If your home is somewhat unique in size and amenity, it will make it even tougher to find good comps. You have to widen the scope of the search and make adjustments for differences. Real Estate is incredibly localized and real estate agents generally know the market better than appraisers. On average, it takes about an hour to find the right comps, evaluate and provide a rationale for differences and and assign values to those differences.

I am not an attorney and do not offer legal advice but what I can do is provide access to the tax appeal forms, the government provided instructions and access to comparable sales so that you can apply for the appeal yourself. I did it myself in 2009 and saved over $1,100.

Attorneys typically charge 1/3 of your savings which can be substantial depending on the size of your home and the decrease in value. Attorneys can represent you at the appeal but often times still ask you to find your own comparable sales. Appraisers charge $350 - $450 and may go with you to the appeal not as your representative but as an expert on property valuation.

Last year, I represented myself and won an approximate $1,100 reduction of my property taxes and my place is small - 585 square feet on Washington and 10th in Hoboken! If I hired an attorney that would have cost me $363 and potentially another $350 - 450 for the appraiser. I would have been left with only about $290 in savings - frankly not worth the time to bother.

Don't be afraid to represent yourself. The instructions are self evident. It's a simple 1 page form. I will be happy to go over the form with you and show you where you can find pertinent data elements on your tax record to complete it. See below for the form and instructions.

I charge $100 for comparable sales.

I accept cash or Paypal only. Please call 201-240-6832 or email me at donnaantonucci@gmail.com today, to make an appointment.

The deadline for submitting your tax appeal form to the County Clerk is April 1st, 2012 and the comparable sales must be dated before October 1, 2011.

Here is the form and the instructions:
Tax Appeal Form

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Price Per Square Foot by Bedroom from Q1 2006 to Q3 2011

2011-10-31T05:54:00.000-07:00

This is the chart that everyone likes. It shows the price per square foot by neighborhood for Hoboken overall. Click on the graph for a larger view.

Notice that the price per square foot for 3 bedrooms is trending down when you look at it from the peak in Q4 2007. There was a noticeable uptick between Q4 2008 and Q1 2009 but that is likely attributable to low volume. Keep in mind, the market crashed in October 2008 so volume after that was minimal. The vast majority of what closed directly after the crash was sales that were under binding contract before the crash. Anyone who had an out right after the crash bailed - well overall anyway. There was another noticeable tick up from Q1 to Q2 2010. Many attribute this to the halo effect of the first time home buyer tax credit. Most 3 bedrooms were beyond the price limit allowed under the program but since the program injected hope into the market with a lift in activity, it seemed to have had an impact on 3 bedrooms as well. In Q4 2010, there is a decline in price per square feet. In Q1 & Q2 2011 Prices were up. In Q3 2011 Prices were up and almost equal to Q3 2010.

Notice that the one and 2 bedrooms largely follow the same downward slope as the 3 bedrooms with lesser variation over time. There is much more volume in Hoboken in one and 2 bedrooms with 2 bedrooms roughly 2/3 larger than one bedroom sales in terms of units. Q3 2010 was lowest price sale period for 2 bedrooms. In Q1 2011 there was a little increase in prices. Q3 2011 was highest price for 2 bedroom sales.

Q3 2007 was highest price sale period for 1 bedroom sales. After that there was a downfall in every quarter. Q2 2009 was lowest price sale quarter for 1 bedroom sales. After Q2 2009 there is a consistency in sale price. In Q1 2011 again there is a downfall in sale prices. Q1, Q2 and Q3 2011 were lowest price sale periods for 1 bedroom sales.

The number of studios and 4 bedroom sales in Hoboken is small in absolute terms so even one purchase with a very high or low price per square foot can swing the average. So, I largely discount this as an indicator.

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Hoboken Weekly Real estate Statistics Report With New & Active Listing Details - Oct 27th 2011

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Weekly Stats Public 2009

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for JC Downtown & Hoboken by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com

2011-10-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hoboken's Rent Control Ordinance - What should you consider when buying an investment property.

2011-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Rent Control is a hot topic these days, especialy since the city is the defendent of a class action law suit by a group of Landlords over the administration of the rent control ordinance. I just want to provide some basic information that as a buyer you should be aware of. I am not an attorney. Please consult your attorney when it comes to these matters. Hopefully, this article will give you an idea of what you should ask when buying an investment property.

Hoboken has a rent control ordinance:

Rent Control Ordinance

Again, this ordinance is under scrutiny and frankly, litigation, as mentioned above. There is a class action law suit being levied against the city because of how the Ordinance has been administered and many believe it needs to change.

When buying a property as an investment or even if you are buying it to live in you should consider what rent you allowed to charge. In very basic terms, Hoboken's rent control ordinance says that all Landlords must register rents they charge with the city each year. They are allowed to increase the base rent based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) schedule that can be obtained from the Hoboken Rent Leveling Board via an Open Public Records Act Request (OPRA) form.

OPRA Form

Read more about How rents can be increased after the jump..

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832
donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.hobokenrealestatevalue.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

How rents can be increased:

CPI Schedule - Rents can be increased annually by a specific schedule by adding the CPI percentage to the rent. Again, consult the Ordinance and the CPI schedule.

Vacancy Decontrol - The rent can also be increased by 25% for something called vacancy decontrol. That's when the owner or Tenant who was occupying the unit, moves out and rents the property. This 25% increase can only be done once in any 3 year period.

Other reasons for increasing the rent that require application are:

Tax Surcharge - A tax increase can be passed onto the Tenants. It's basically the difference between the base year annual property tax and the current property tax amount divided by 12. See the Ordinance document above for the calculation.

Capital Improvements - You have to appeal to the board and demonstrate that you have made an improvement and then the board may grant you the right to increase the rent. You have to demonstrate what you did and how much you spent to improve the property and the Board grants the increase in rent.

Hardship - I have many clients who had to move out of Hoboken and could not sell their apartment for an amount that would payoff their mortgage. Many don't have the cash to pay the difference and have opted to rent. In this scenario, the Landlord can make an appeal based on hardship. The concept is that the owner is entitled to a positive return.

Hardship Application

A hardship application assumes the buyer bought the property using "prudent judgement". This basically means the owner cannot buy a rental property knowing that the rents were not at market and expect to raise the rents based on a hardship appeal. When a property has below market rents, the property is typically worth less then it would otherwise. Sometimes, buyers buy a property on speculation of property value increases rather than from an income producing point of view. When a buyer does this they cannot make a hardship claim.

However, if a buyer buys a property to live in it and has to move out and rent it, and discovers that the legal rent for the unit is below market, i.e., has a negative return, he/she can make a hardship appeal. They bought at the prevailing value, as a owner occupied unit using prudent judgement and then tried to rent it. In the Ordinance, the reasonable rate of return is defined as 6% above the passbook savings rate available in Hoboken. Since banks are offering a savings account interest rate of about 1% these days, you can count of 7% but the bottom line is the return has to be positive.

Other ways of maintaining the rent:

In these poor economic times, I have seen rents go down. Many Landlord's want to maintain the legal rent at 2006 and 2007 levels. I have seen this accomplished by keeping the rent constant or even increase it based on the CPI index and then using rental rebates to bring the effective rent down to current market levels. This way when the market bounces back, the owner will have the right to adjust the rent upwards very quickly in lieu of being constrained by a dip in the base rent + CPI increases.

I have also seen a similar application using a discount on parking. For example, if an apartment in 2007 garnered $2,500 in rent + $200 in parking. I have seen the Landlord offer the same apartment in 2009 for $2,500 and provide the parking for free. Parking, if not part of the same parcel along with the apartment is not subject to the Ordinance. Makes sense.... parking is a luxury.

Caveat Empter. . .

Ask the seller for a legal rent calculation whether you intend to occupy the unit or not. This has to be requested during the attorney review period. If you buy a property with below market rents and you live in it, remember the CPI for each year you lived in it + the vacancy decontrol of 25%.

If you are the first buyer after a property was converted from a rental building to condominium, make sure you apply for a capital improvement rent increase. You cannot go back and put in for it after a period of time. You have to evidence the improvement. If you do this when you first move in, you will get the CPI increases on top of the Capital Improvement increase plus the vacancy de-control when you leave to rent it. The same applies if you buy the place and then renovate it yourself. I mention the conversion situation because you will need the previous owner to provide the proof of improvement.

This process also takes time so it's easier if you do it while you are living in it rather than waiting until the point you decide to rent out your unit.

The same with tax surcharge case. Put in for the right to increase the rent based on a tax increase when your property taxes are increased. Don't wait until you are about to rent the unit. It takes time and you might find yourself in a position where you have rent the unti for less that it's worth and less than you would be allowed just because you are about to have a vacancy. (When faced with a month or two of vacany while you make a tax surcharge appeal may be worth more money, at least in the short term, than waiting for the appeal and the ability to increase the rent)

Talk to a LOCAL real estate attorney who is familiar with the Ordinance and the class action suit. Be informed when you buy.

I also recommend that you hire a real estate agent using a Buyer's Agency agreement. This is not a popular form of hiring an agent here in Hudson County because many buyers are afraid of making a committment to a particular agent for a typical 6 month contract period. But when you hire an agent using a Buyer's Agency agreement, the agent has a greater responsibility to forwarn you of these things. Under a Transaction Broker arrangement, they are only being hired to assist you with completing a Contract of Sale and providing access to potential properties. There is an underslying assumption you are doing your own due diligence. A Buyer's Agency Agreement often results in higher insurance premium costs to the agent. An agent cannot take on the added time and expense without a committment from the buyer that he/she will guarantee he/she will use his services.

Here is the Consumer Information Statement that describes the difference between a seller's agent, buyer's agent, transaction broker and a dual disclosed broker.

Consumer Info Stmt

Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/
http://www.hobokenrealestatevalue.com/
http://www.donnaantonucci.com/

Signing a Lease? Things to Consider including Hoboken's Rent Control Law

2011-10-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the term a "Tenant's lease" or a "Landlords lease"? Ever wonder what that means?

A Tenant's Lease is written with favorable terms to the Tenant and a Landlord's Lease is written with terms that are favorable to the Landlord.

Here are some things each side should consider when writing a lease:

Complying with the rules and regulations of the Condo Association:

A Landlord may want to make the Tenant liable for complying with all rules and regulations of the condominium association which personally I find very reasonable. I see this one missed a lot and Landlords get saddled with fines because Tenants are not complying with the Association rules yet the Landlord has no right to pass the fine on.

I also manage properties and recently one of my buildings put in an air conditioner removal policy. The new regulation passed by the Board states that the owners are responsible for removing all window and wall air conditioners between the months of October thru March. All unit owners are fined $150 per month if they leave an air conditioner in during this period. I think this is a reasonable way for the building to save money on heat and to get everyone to comply.

The Landlord is responsible for the actions of his/her Tenants. The way to ensure that the Tenant comply, is to pass the fine onto the Tenant by way of the lease. If it's not in lease, the landlord will have a much harder time passing on the fine and perhaps compliance. A term in the lease to the effect, "The Tenant must comply with all rules and regulations of the condominium association and all resulting fines and consequences of non compliance", should be included in the lease to hold tenants accountable.

Landlord's tightly, perhaps too tightly, controlling use:

Landlord terms that I find unreasonable include such clauses that limit or control the number of guests a Tenant can have. I have seen leases where the Landlord tries to control the number of visitors. I personally think that if you are renting a place, you should be able to have guests, at will, as long as you don't go over the maximum capacity of the unit. Yes, if they stay more than a given number of weeks, I suppose it can create greater wear and tear. Part of deciding to rent it to a particular person or persons, may be the number of people who go on the lease initially. That is, wear and tear may be a factor in the Landlord's decision to rent the property to you. Perhaps it's ok to state that you can't have a guest for more than a certain number of consecutive weeks. Again, just read your lease and be aware of what you are signing.

Passing off maintenance responsibilities to the Tenant:

I have also seen Landlord's try to pass some repairs and maintenance off onto the Tenant - repairs under a certain dollar amount and/or maintenance of a backyard, snow removal or garbage disposal. The Tenant should read the lease carefully before signing. At a minimum, you want to make sure you understand if you are going to be accountable for these things. You may be amenable to these things as it might result in a favorable rent and if you are living in the unit it may be far more convenient to take care of these things than the Landlord + you won't have someone walking through your house when you are not home. It could be easier for you just to fix smaller items. Having said that many prefer to rent so that they don't have to think about such things. Just make sure you understand what you are agreeing to.

Selling a property with Tenants in it:

An item that I see Landlord's neglect in a lease is protecting themselves in the event they want to sell the property with Tenants in it. A big hesitation of potential buyers of an investment property is buying a property with existing Tenants. Because rarely do Landlords report the payment history of a Tenant to one of the credit bureaus, there is no way that a prospective buyer can find out, through a 3rd party, how well a Tenant paid the rent or in general what kind of payment risk he/she presents. One thing Landlord's should consider when writing a lease is to put in a clause that gives them the right to pull the Tenant's credit bureau at any time for credit monitoring purposes. They should also write in the lease that the Landlord has the right to share the credit bureau with any prospective buyer. To make it reasonable, the Landlord should be restricted to sharing the credit bureau only to prospective buyers who have signed a contract of sale indicating the buyer is serious and is in attorney review which in fact is the due diligence phase of a purchase. The Landlord may want to reserve the right to evict the Tenant should the Tenant's Fair Isaacs Company (FICO) score go below a stated level.

If the Landlord wants to write in such a clause please be careful to consult a knowledgeable attorney so that you not violating any regulations.   For example, under the new Dodd-Frank Recovery Act, a bank cannot charge a credit user for what they call "off us default". In other words, you can not charge more just because a customer has paid poorly on other debts and/or his/her FICO has gone down. Consult a knowledgeable attorney to understand if and how this impacts rental payments. You may or may not be able to charge a surcharge (not technically rent as rent is controlled by rent control but an additional risk fee for being a higher risk than when the Tenant originally signed the lease) if the FICO score has gone down below a level set in the lease. The Frank-Dodd legislation was targeted towards credit card companies and may or may not preclude Landlords from using this technique. Again, this is new ground. Consult a lawyer.

Personally, I think a Landlord should be able to evict based on a deteriorating payment history on other debts. The eviction process is long and the quality of the Tenants impacts the value of the property. With a credit card, a bank can just close the account if they feel that the credit card holder is too risky even if they can no longer surcharge for poorer "off us" payment history. It would be an interesting case if it were ever brought to court.

The key is, if you have provided the ability to pull and share a bureau with a prospective buyer AND you have good paying Tenants (good paying on other debts) you will increase your chances tremendously of being able to sell the property with Tenants in it and therefore support a better price. If a place has poor paying Tenants or there is no way of validating that they are good paying Tenants and that are unwilling to leave voluntarily and a Landlord really must sell, ultimately, it will be reflected in the price.

This is a sensitive subject given Hoboken's history documented in the documentary "Delivered Vacant". I believe it's, among other reasons, the inability of a prospective buyer to assess risk that compelled Landlords to push Tenants out before selling it. It's a shame as many of the Tenants may be just fine and a small provision in a lease may make it feasible to assess that risk. The Landlord would not have to go through a period of vacancy to sell either and there would be less Tenants harassed to leave. We are all better off if we create value. Vacancy doesn't help anyone. Some property taxes on rentals are contingent on rent receipts. The city collects less on properties with vacancies and the rest of us have to make up the budget gap.

Consider a clause that creates this ability, you may create tremendous value.

Late Fees:

Unless the property is under a bank holding company, the Landlord cannot charge interest. This is why you always see a flat fee late charge on leases (or at least you should).   Again check your lease. If you see that the Landlord is charging interest for late payments, you may want to leave it and then challenge it if you are charged. Or, you can point out during negotiations that the Landlord cannot charge interest (unless the property is owned by a bank who can charge interest). Again, consult an attorney.

Clauses that create fees on top of rent:

Move-in and Application fees:

Keep in mind that many condo associations have "move in fees" and/or application fees in the case of co-ops. Move-in fees go to cover damage caused by moving in and out - things like paying for touch up painting, carpet spills, or even staff that have to manage a move. You see this more in larger buildings. Be aware that the Landlord via the lease may make the Tenant accountable for these charges.

Pet Deposits:

I have also seen pet deposits/fees. This is a tough one. They seem like a way of circumventing the law about charging a maximum of 1.5 months of security deposit. However, if an animal does damage it's usually a lot of money. If a cat creates an ammonia smell it can not only permeate the entire apartment but sometimes the hallway as well. The only way to get rid of it is to change any carpet and paint. The same is true if a dog chews through a carpet or wall. The damage can be quite high and a typical pet nor regular security deposit can't nearly cover the damage yet it feels like a superfluous fee.

Be aware that sometimes it's a deposit that the Tenant can get back if no damage was done. More often, I am seeing this as a non refundable fee. The idea is that it goes into a kitty so when that one apartment has damage caused by a pet, it's enough money to cover it. Again, read carefully. If it's a one time fee, you won't get it back.

I have seen pet deposits range from anywhere from $150 to $400. Having said this, paying an extra deposit for a pet may open up a lot of buildings that wouldn't allow pets otherwise and given the real impact of damage, this may be reasonable to pay. Again, just be aware of it and always read your lease thoroughly.

Manipulating rent control:

In my article on rent control, I have mentioned how some Landlords may use a parcel not controlled by rent control such as a parking spot to adjust the effective rent of the apartment + amenity to market. I used the example of a parking spot. For example, let's say the market rent on a given unit before the crash was $2,700 with an additional $200 for parking. After the crash, the market will only bare $2,550 for the unit. Instead of reducing the rent to $2,550, the Landlord offered the rent at $2,700 and reduced the parking to $50. Tenants need to be aware that when the market comes back, the landlord can adjust up the rent on the parking spot all at once. Likewise, since it's a separate parcel, you don't have to take the parking if that occurs. Presumably, however, the Tenant rented an apartment with a parking spot because he/she has a car. A car is a luxury and unfortunately, this is one of the consequences of owning a car in an urban environment. Tenants should consider things like using Corner Cars or Zip cars to reduce costs and give themselves more flexibility.

I have also seen this technique used with storage space. A Landlord is renting an old building superintendent space - a basement unit. Along with the tiny apartment, the Landlord rents a sizable storage space in basement to the same Tenant that he uses as a living room (he cannot sleep in it). The storage space is not subject to rent control and can be adjusted at will. If the Tenant does not want to agree to the increased rent on the storage space, he doesn't have to rent the space however his effective living space would be cut in half and the building could rent that storage space out to anyone who wants to rent it.

Technically, the same technique can be used with things like refrigerators. That is, the landlord is not obligated by law to provide a fridge. (In the state of NJ, they have to provide a stove for safety reasons but no other appliances) They obviously often do to make his/her unit attractive in the marketplace. They could charge a separate rent for the fridge on top of the rent. Renting kitchen appliances is, in fact, common in places like Canada and Europe since appliances have to be replaced over time and are considered durable but consumable goods. The Tenant is free to say he/she doesn't want to rent the fridge and then what is the Landlord going to do with the refrigerator?? If renting the apartment were contingent on renting the fridge, it very well may be ruled as apartment rent and may not hold up in a court of law. The only way to know if it would hold water is to have it contested in court. Your guess is as good as mine on how a judge would rule on this.

This is just some food for thought based on my observations. As always, you should consult an attorney on all of these matters.

Hire a good agent:

All of this is good reason to hire an agent as a "Tenants Agent". Agents are sometimes criticized for not pro-actively raising these issues. Renters need to understand the different types of agency. If you are not signing an agreement where you commit to using a particular agent for a given period of time, you are interacting with the agent as a transaction broker ie asking for assistance with the completing the standard state approved lease form (that doesn't cover custom terms) and the underlying legal assumption is that the Tenant has done his/her own due diligence. An agent is not obligated to proactively raise these concerns and it's cost prohibited to do so without a commitment from the Tenant to use the Agent exclusively. Many Agents don't want to work with Tenants because of how disloyal (perhaps naively) they can be. A renter goes from agency to agency looking for rentals and education on the process. Unless there is a commitment, the agent can't afford to provide all of this guidance for free. They need to move quickly to paying clients.

Commit to an Agent by signing an agreement and they will not only willingly provide guidance, they will be legally obligated to do so.

The rent control article tells you more about Hoboken's Rent Control Ordinance. It also has a legal description of what the differences are between the types of agency.

Here is the article on Hoboken Rent Control.
Rent Control Article

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Downtown Jersey City Weekly Real estate Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-10-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

JC Stats Public

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Hoboken Weekly Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details - Oct 20th 2011

2011-10-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Weekly Stats Public 2009

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Weekly Updates - Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & JC Downtown by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com

2011-10-19T08:53:00.001-07:00

Fashion Color Trends for 2012 - See What's Going to be New Next Year....

2011-10-18T04:57:00.000-07:00

Color Trends for 2012 will reflect nature, will be more muted and multi-dimensioned. Update you home with the latest color trends. Watch a brief video on what the trends are for next year.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832
donnaantonucci@gmail.com

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Wet Water Pump Opened Today to Help the SW Flooding Issues.

2011-10-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Hoboken Patch.

Local officials officially opened the down town wet weather pump, which is supposed to alleviate Hoboken's long standing flooding problem, especially in the southwestern part of town.

The pump will be operational in about two weeks, said North Hudson Sewage Authority Chairman Richard Wolff. The second outfall of the pump—a large pipe that is supposed to help pump the water to the river—is almost cleaned out. The outfall of the pump had to be cleaned out manually, which caused a delay of the opening earlier this year.

Officials broke ground on the project in April, 2010. The pump—the city's first wet weather pump—cost roughly $18 million, which was paid for by the NHSA with the help of a $5 million grant from the federal government.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner as well Assemblyman Sean Connors, Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano and several members of the NHSA were present on Monday afternoon.

An initial plan called for four wet weahter pumps to completely solve the flooding problem. Zimmer said on Monday that four pumps will not be necessary. She said that she wants to install other green initiatives, such as green roofs.

In next year's budget, Zimmer added, she wants to hire a firm that will evaulate the city's green initiatives and can help develop an inclusive plan.

The outside of the pump station was designed by John Nastasi of Nastasi Architects and houses the generator that powers the two pumps that can process 50 million gallons each.

The facade, Nastasi said, is supposed to fit in with the background, he explained. The copper on the facade will turn green over time, he said, at the same time as the tower at the Lackawanna Terminal.
With the extreme rainfall of the last few months, including Hurricane Irene, the city has been especially unlucky and the southwestern part of Hoboken especially hard hit with flooding.

If the pump had been operational during the hurricane, Wolff said, it would not have been able to prevent all flooding. It would have, however, made the water go down quicker.

"We still have work to do," Zimmer said. "But today is a great day for Hoboken."

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Weekly Jersey City Downtown Real estate Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-10-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

JC Stats Public

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Weekly Updates - Hoboken Real estate Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-10-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for the member only view of the weeks statistics with active MLS links.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Weekly Stats Public 2009

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Weekly Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & JC Downtown by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com

2011-10-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Q1 v Q2, Discount off Original Price, Avg Square Footage by Bedroom, Avg Number of Days from Listing to Contract

2011-10-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

As a realtor in town, I feel compelled to know my market and take an analytic focus on the local market conditions. Real estate is extremely localized and each market behaves differently. Hoboken continues to do better relative to other areas. In fact, it has had the least amount of decline in the state but it is not insulated from our sluggish economy.

According to Summer Market Analysis, in first quarter home sale was normal. Year took a slow start. January was lowest home sales month in first quarter and March was highest home sales month.

Now look at the second quarter of 2011. 2^nd quarter had the highest homes sale of year.

July and August were lowest home sales months. In July and August, 1 bedroom unit sale was on first place and got highest discount on average. 1 bedroom unit homes got highest average price per square feet.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Jersey City Downtown Weekly Updated Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Hoboken Weekly Updates - Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-10-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for this weeks statistics.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & Jersey City Downtown by HobokenRealestateMonitor.com

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Summer Market Analysis Report for Hoboken $ Volume by Contract Date Unit Close in 2011

2011-10-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Click to Enlarge

According to Summer Market Analysis i.e. May, June and July were peak months for home sale closings. In June and July 2011, sales were on peak for all types of homes.

Take a look at the volume graph above. Condo sale closings were more than one family and 2-4 family homes. Trend is same throughout January to August 2011. This is not a surprise year. In Hoboken, Condo sale is usually more than one family 2-4 family home.

Now look at the condo sale closings for 2011. Year started with slow sale closings. February was lowest sale closing month. But after that condo sales closing increased every month. May, June and July were peak sale closing months (as expected). After that, there were slight declines in sale closing.

Single family home sales closing were on second place but there were no consistency in sale closing. There were no sale closing in February and April but May and June were top sale closing months (as expected)

2-4 family home sale closing, Year started with slow sales closings. There was a huge surprise in May. There were no sales closing in May 2011 but after that there were a huge change in 2-4 family home sale closing.

Here is a chart for month to month sale closings from Jan 2011 to August 2011

Click to Enlarge

This is part third of my 4 part series on market conditions. Tune in next week for the next installment of the market analysis through October 11th.

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
donnaantonucci@gmail.com
201-240-6832

www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com

Weekly Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details for Jersey City Downtown By Hobokenrealestatemoniter.com

2011-09-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Weekly Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & Jersey City Downtown

2011-09-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hoboken Weekly Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-09-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for this weeks statistics.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Jersey City Downtown Weekly Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-09-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Updated Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & Jersey City Downtown

2011-09-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

Weekly Updates: Hoboken Real estate Trends Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-09-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for this weeks statistics.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

Weekly Open House and New Listings Map for Hoboken & Jersey City Downtown

2011-09-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Jersey City Downtown Weekly statistics With New & Active Listing Details

2011-09-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Weekly Updates - Hoboken Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details

2011-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for this weeks statistics.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com

What positive role seller financing can play in getting your house sold?

2011-09-13T07:19:00.001-07:00

In seller financing, the seller functions as a direct lender, with the buyer making monthly mortgage payments to the seller instead of a bank.

Buyers who accept seller financing usually cannot qualify for a traditional mortgage loan, often because they have a low credit score.

"For sellers, the biggest benefit is to increase the pool of potential buyers to include those who might not qualify for a loan," says Ardina Franssen, RealEstate.com agent for the Atlanta and Lake Lanier region in Georgia.

Because borrowers with this profile are considered riskier, sellers often can charge as much as 8 percent or 9 percent in interest, which is more than many other investments earn.

In addition, taxes are owed only on the amount received each year rather than on the entire sale price. This reduces any taxes that might be owed. Sellers often are able to negotiate a higher price for the home when they offer financing.

"Seller financing can be a good investment because sellers will often be able to sell at full price and will earn a high interest rate on their funds," Franssen says. "Both sides benefit because there are reduced closing costs when no lender is involved in the transaction."

Who qualifies?
Seller financing is easier to arrange when homeowners own their property without a mortgage. In 2008, about 32 percent of all American homeowners owned their homes free and clear, according to a U.S. Census American Community Survey.

Homeowners with a small mortgage may be able to pay off that mortgage with the down payment from a buyer or other funds in order to offer seller financing.

In most cases, seller financing covers the entire purchase other than the down payment because institutional lenders rarely approve financing for a partial loan, says Brandon Coppock, program director for Owner Finance Buyers in Dallas, a company that assists owners with seller financing.

"Most of the buyers we work with are using seller financing as bridge financing for a few years until they can qualify for a refinance," Coppock says. "In many cases, the buyers have had a short sale or some other singular event that damaged their credit rather than a pattern of not paying bills."

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Downtown Jersey City Weekly statistics With New & Active Listing Details from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor

2011-09-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Newport/Pavonia
Hamilton Square
Harsmis Cove
Powerhouse District
Van Vorst Park
Liberty Harbor
Harborside
Paulus Hook
Western Edge

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com
http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

Hoboken & Jersey City Downtown - Open House and New Listings Map from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor.com

2011-09-08T08:07:00.001-07:00

Weekly Hoboken Real estate Stats Report With New & Active Listing Details from Hoboken Real Estate Monitor

2011-09-07T05:43:00.001-07:00

Did you know that when you sign up for the private view of Hoboken Real Estate Monitor's Weekly statistics you get links by quadrant to all the new and active listings for the week. They are the Hudson county Multiple Listing Service listings used by realtors which have more information than what's available on typical property search sites.

Sign up today by clicking on any of the links & submitting your email address. An auto-email will be sent to you with a link to the private view of the statistics. Be sure to sign up for weekly updates and get the stats and the private view of the map each week.

Click here for this weeks statistics.

Use the weekly statistics to track the market. Bid on your new home with confidence!

See the price per square foot by neighborhood, by the number of bedrooms. What have units sold for? What are they listed for today?

Information Provided by Donna Antonucci
Prudential Castle Point Realty
201-240-6832

donnaantonucci@gmail.com

http://www.hobokenrealestatemonitor.com/

http:www.donnaantonucci.com