hOMES: Weekly Insight Into Hoboken & Jersey City Real Estate Trends | May 17, 2019

Hoboken & Jersey City Real Estate Trends | May 17, 2019
by Ann Wycherley
Broker Associate, Century 21 Innovative Realty

We all know that when looking to purchase a home we need to have a certain amount of funds available for a down payment. This can range from 3% to 20% or more of the purchase price, with 20% being optimal.

What a lot of buyers do not take into account is the additional monies necessary to cover all of the other costs associated with a home purchase. These are know as “closing costs” and they average at around 2% of the purchase price. For example, if the home your are buying is $500,000 your closing costs will be around $10,000.

Closing costs cover a wide range of items. Your mortgage representative will give you a good faith estimate which will outline the majority of them. This will include appraisal fees, title insurance, home owners insurance (one year required) escrow of taxes (3-5 months) attorney fees (estimated $1,300-$1,800) among other items. This estimate will tend to be slightly higher that the actual costs, as the laws changed a few years ago making mortgage companies responsible for any shortfall.  What is not included in the lenders estimate is the cost of a home inspection (around $450 and up), administrative fees (Fedex, etc) and condominium fees. Most condo buildings will require a capital contribution of between 3-6 months of maintenance fees.

Another important thing of note is that the State of New Jersey has a “mansion tax”, imposing an additional transfer tax on properties sales greater than $1 million. The mansion tax is one percent of the purchase price and this additional tax is paid by the home buyer.

I use the words “estimate” and “around” frequently when discussing closing costs because every situation is different, but the “2%” is a good rule of thumb.  If the actual costs are lower, well you have some extra money to spend on celebrating your new purchase, but make sure you have these funds at you disposal.

Here are this week’s numbers:

HOBOKEN:
Studio/ 1-Bedrooms
New Listings:
11 new listings. The average price is $489,818 and the average price per sq/ft is $724.
Sold Properties:
4 properties closed. The average price was $616,125 and the average price per sq/ft was $769.

2-Bedrooms
New Listings:
27 new listings. The average price is $883,982 and the average price per sq/ft is $721.
Sold Properties:
6 sold properties.  The average price was $904,499 and the average price per sq/ft was $679.

3-Bedrooms
New Listings:
16 new listings. The average price is $1,174,925 and the average price per sq/ft is $763.
Sold Properties:
2 sold properties.  The average price was $1,072,00 and the average price per sq/ft was $749.

4-Bedrooms
New Listings:
1 new listing.  The price is $1,748,000 and the price per sq/ft is $677.
Sold Properties:
No properties closed.

Single-Family Homes
One three-bedroom home listed for $1,100,000.
Sold Listings:
No sold listings.

DOWNTOWN JERSEY CITY:
Studio/ 1-Bedrooms
New Listings:
5 new listings. The average price is $533,600 and the average price per sq/ft is $766.
Sold Properties:
4 properties closed. The average price was $653,750 and the average price per sq/ft was $785.

2-Bedrooms
New Listings:
14 new listings. The average price is $916,285 and the average price per sq/ft is $797.
Sold Properties:
8 properties closed. The average price was $834,750 and the average price per sq/ft was $688.

3-Bedrooms
New Listings:
4 new listings. The average price is $1,561,000 and the average price per sq/ft is $739.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties.

Single-Family Homes
New Listings:
One new two-bedroom home listed for $679,000 and a four-bedroom listed for $1,649,000
Sold Listings:
No sold properties.

JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS:
Studio/ 1-Bedrooms
New listings:
2 new listings. The average price is $415,000 and the average price per sq/ft is $519.
Sold Properties:
4 sold properties. The average price was $303,500  and the average price per sq/ft was $437.

2-Bedrooms
New Listings:
5 new listings. The average price is $430,800 and the average price per sq/ft is $462.
Sold Properties:
2 sold properties. The average price was $517,000 and the average price per sq/ft was $458.

3-Bedrooms
New Listings:
7 new listings. The average price is $696,542 and the average price per sq/ft is $479.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties.

4-Bedrooms
New Listings:
1 new listing. The price is $699,000 and the  price per sq/ft is $388.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties.

Single-Family Homes:
New Listings:
2 two-bedroom home listed for $329,900 and $449,000 and 3 three-bedroom homes listed for $429,000 and $469,000.
Sold Properties:
No sold listings.

JOURNAL SQUARE:
Studio/ 1-Bedrooms
New Listings:
4 new listings. The average price is $287,000 and the average price per sq/ft is $462.
Sold Properties:
1 sold property. The price is $340,000 and price per sq/ft is $458.

2-Bedrooms
New Listings:
4 new listings. The average price is $279,000 and the average price per sq/ft is $326.
Sold properties:
No sold properties.

3-Bedrooms
New Listings:
No new listings.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties

Single-Family Homes:
New Listings:
One two-bedroom home listed for $750,000, three three-bedroom homes listed for $429,000, $515,000 and $649,000 and a four-bedroom home listed for  $699,000.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties.

BERGEN-LAFAYETTE:
New Listings:
No new listings.
Sold Properties:
No sold properties.

(Information provided by Hudson County MLS)

CLICK HERE to learn more about these and other properties…
CLICK HERE to find out how much your property is worth in today’s market…

Mortgage Market in Review:

Mortgage application volume dropped 0.6% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. However, volume is 10% higher than a year ago, mainly because interest rates overall were higher then. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 1% for the week. Home buying this spring has underperformed expectations, as prices remain high and the supply of lower-end homes remains low The same uncertainty in the economy that is causing interest rates to remain low may also be causing many buyers to hesitate. At a homebuilders’ conference in Southern California this past week, builders expressed concern about affordability, especially given higher costs for labor, land and now new tariffs on some Chinese products that go into housing. We’ll see how tariffs on Chinese products impacts the housing market.

CLICK HERE for a more detailed analysis from local mortgage broker Michael Mundy.

ALSO OF INTEREST:
Hoboken American Legion Post 107 Throwing Party to Help Finish Veterans Community Center — SATURDAY, MAY 18

Public Meeting Addresses Bus Service in Jersey City Heights (JerseyDigs.com)

Hoboken Arts & Music Festival — Sunday, May 19

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Ann Wycherley is an award-winning realtor with over 15 years of solid real estate experience in the Hoboken and Jersey City market.

She has been recognized by the New Jersey Realtors Circle of Excellence for many years, having earned the Gold Level of Excellence 2015-2017, meanwhile awarded Lifetime Membership in the New Jersey Association of Realtors Distinguished Sales Club.

Other accolades include the coveted Centurion Award for the past five years running (2012-2016), which represents the premium level of achievement within the Century 21 organization.