Stop Right There.

....I gotta know right now....

Did Hoboken put up the stop signs on Newark at the corner of Willow to generate more revenue? Taxpayers rejoice! We can hire a third police chief without raising taxes anymore.

Did anyone notice the new signs? No warning. One day there not there, the next day they are. and at just the right height to be blocked by the parking signs. Now here is the good part. Hoboken's Boss Hogg just sitting at the corner waiting for someone to blow a stop sign they can't see and would never think was there. A perfect scheme.

Rosco P. Coltrane would be proud.

Hoboken Real Estate

2 BR Condos

Available 295

Under contract 55

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Black Friday Comes To Mortgages.

From my good friend and Rutgers fan...

The Federal Reserve threw a massive life-line to consumers Tuesday with two new programs aimed at making it easier for them to obtain loans for homes, cars and on credit cards.

Under the new mortgage program, the Fed will buy up to $100 billion of debt issued by government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It will also buy up to $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.

This has caused mortgage rates to drop significantly!

Please note that these interest rates are meant to be a guide, so that you can follow the trends of the market ... if you have a specific scenario, please contact Mike

REVISED November 25th, 2008---- 2:30 PM ETLock Period = 30 Days
C O N F O R M I N G L O A N S (loans less than or equal to $417,000)

30 YEAR FIXED ------------------------- 5.500%, No Points30 YEAR FIXED INTEREST ONLY--- 6.375%, No Points
15 YEAR FIXED----------------------------- 5.500%, No Points
5 / 1 ARM------------------------------------- 5.625%, No Points
7/1 ARM ----------------------------------------------- 5.750%, No Points

Add .125% to Rate or .500 To Points For Loans <$80,000 or If Waiving EscrowsInvestment Properties --- ** Add 2 points, or increase rate by 1/2% (if 20% down)**There may be a rate increase for cash-out refinance transactions over 70% Loan to Value

EXPANDED C O N F O R M I N G FIXED RATE LOANS (loans greater than $417,000, but less than $625,500)

30 YEAR FIXED ------------------------- 5.750%, No Points

** Loan amount restrictions based on county.

NON-CONFORMING L O A N S (30 year fixed greater than expanded conforming, every other program greater than $417,000)

30 YEAR FIXED--------------------------- 6.500% No Points

30 YEAR FIXED INTEREST ONLY-- 6.750%, No Points

15 YEAR FIXED----------------------------6.000% No Points

5 / 1 ARM-------------------------------------5.625%, No Points
7/1 ARM ----------------------------------------------- 5.750%, No Points

** All non-conforming loans need to be discussed in detail

Michael Mundy Pinnacle Mortgage, Inc.

mmundy@pinnaclemortgage.biz

Hoboken Real Estate

Condos

Sold Nov to date 46

Median DOM 67

Avg DOM 86

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Gobbling It Up.

Sellers who think they determine the value of their home are turkeys. With a capital T. It makes me want to rip off a drumstick and beat the stuffing out of them when I hear...

I need $400K

I want $400k

I'm not selling for less than $400K

But what really chafes my sweet potatoes and gets my yams boiling is when a seller sets an offer price that's "firm". Yea. firm like my jellied cranberry sauce. yea firm like a pumpkin pie.

Please, please Mr. Seller do not treat me like I've just overdosed on corn and peas. I am not in a food coma. The Buyer dictates the price. All you can do is decide whether or not to sell.

Hoboken Real Estate

Condos

Number Available 526

Median DOM 74
Avg DOM 108

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

3 For The Price Of 2

Crazy stuff in this market. Here are two units that just came on the market.

Behind door number 1:

Three Bed , 2 Bath

1500 sqft

2 Blocks to the PATH

elevator

parking

Terrace

Priced at $434/sqft

Behind door number 2:

Two bed, 2 Bath

1300 sqft

Way back on 6th

elevator

parking

No terrace

Priced at $450/sqft

Which is the goat?

Hoboken Real Estate

Condos

Number Available 525

New to Market in Nov 132

Price Changes in November 126

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Your Bike or Your House.

I love the great commercial with the guy who gets on the bus and says he's some rich guy from some small third world country and can you send a give him some money to unlock his fortune and share it with you....the ad being for online scams and if you won't fall for it in the real world why would you be scammed on line.... It seems to be working. People are being more cautious online. yet...

When it comes to the real world, they leave it to chance. Sellers if you leave a lock box on your property and it is not one that records who has been entering the code, you and your stuff is at risk. The truth is that lock boxes get abused. Agents don't put the keys back or they don't get closed properly. If there is no tracking, there is no one to blame. Ummm sorry Mr & Mrs. Seller the keys are gone.... No I don't know who took them.... Sleep well tonight.

Thieves cut locks of bikes worth a couple of hundred dollars and here your agent goes and puts a key to your home right in plain sight. If it is a cheap lock box, clip snip and there goes your laptop.

Hoboken Real Estate Condos Sold Since 9/1/2008
Number 173
Median DOM 63
Avg 97% of ask
Avg sale price $518,290

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Parking Trickery

And the latest installment of parking trickeration from Ali Roberts and the Nine thieves....

Last week it was Veteran's Day on Tuesday. You probably noticed when there was no mail in your box. Well, in Hoboken Veteran's Day came early. Monday. I found out when a long time Hoboken resident and friend called me to let me know there would be no street cleaning and no meter patrols!!! Christmas come early. Except there was no notice. I went to Hobokennj.org to find out if it were true. Nothing. Hoboken411 had the fact right but no one was sure if meters were in effect. So there you have quarter after quarter being pumped in.....As Alanis Morissette sings..."It's a free ride after you've already paid." ugh.

To make matters worse, the cooling weather must be playing havoc with the batteries in the meters. Put a quarter in and it goes dumb until a minute passes than it will accept another quarter. Walk away and the meter boy or girl will get you.

Who says a parking is overrated? Show your face.

Hoboken Real Estate

Condos Under Contract

Nov1-15 : 15

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

TV Comes To Hoboken Real Estate

The BBC is casting for a tv series on TLC. Please read below for important information. If you are interested and have potential buyers who would want to participate

Here is how it works and what they need:

So they're seeking home buyers and potential properties to feature on their television series, to include three potential properties per episode. The home buyers will be given the unique opportunity to “test drive” (i.e. spend the night) in two of the three homes presented to them before making the decision to hopefully put in an offer in on one of them.

This program will give realtors an opportunity to showcase their properties to a national audience on a prominent cable network, and give buyers an experience they would not otherwise have.

They would like to feature properties from one agency per episode, to give buyers access to all of the agency’s listings. This is a win-win for all parties involved. Realtors get to showcase their properties, and real estate agencies get a plug for their business.


"HOME BUYERS: Looking to buy the perfect place? Let US help you find it! With the help of top real estate agents, we’ll take you on an insightful journey into the home buying process and match you up with the house of your dreams!"

"HOMESELLERS AND AGENTS: Get free national television exposure on a prominent cable network and be a part of this new series!"

Applicant Rules
1) Seeking dynamic people with outgoing personalities.
2) Applicants need to currently live in THE NEW YORK TRI-STATE AREA, and be looking to purchase a residence in the New York tri-state area.
3) Applicants should be looking to buy in the first half of 2009.
4) Applicants must be over 21.

It's Not The Price. Really.

Too many buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting this season out. Some have job issues and are waiting to be more settled. This is understandable. Others are thinking about waiting for the prices to come down. But here's the double edged sword: If interest rates head up, ( a real possibility with all the new money the government is printing.) your cost of ownership may rise.

For example you want to buy a $500k condo with 20% down. Your mortgage is $400k. At 6% for 30 years it's $2400/month. The buyer waits until prices come down. The $500k condo drops 5% to $475k. The mortgage is $380k with 20% down. In the meantime rates bump up to 7%. Now your monthly payment is $2527. Yes. If you sell in the first 16 years, you will get a better deal with the lower price. But your cash flow will suffer by over $1500 per year every year. In these times, cash flow is very important to a lot of people.

No biggy right. Except if interest rates pop to 8% instead of 7%, you payment is $2789 or $389 more a month. For $389 more a month at 6% you could get nearly $65,000 more house. So you saved $25k to lose $65k. Yikes.

Hoboken Real Estate$400K Mortgage, 30 Year
Monthly Payment
6% $2400
7% $2660Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Truth: The New Four Letter Word

I had a friend in college who used to say "You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me". I'm thinking about putting this on my business cards...

The fact is sellers are always lying to themselves. And we (realtors) let them. And the buyers let them too. Sellers want to believe their own reality. Here is the biggest self lie.

"Lets try it at the higher number".

Are you kidding me? Sellers: you should be meeting with your agent on a weekly basis. You should be looking at a market analysis on a weekly basis. You should be adjusting your price to stay ahead of the market on a weekly basis..... Otherwise, you'll blame your agent for not selling your overpriced property. You'll let the listing expire. You'll get 1000 call by the sharks who practice scripts everyday to convince expired property owners to list with them. You think I'm kidding???

Expired Owners: Ask the Realtor who is calling if he/she uses a system for expireds. For example, The Mike Ferry system is very popular with a couple of realty offices in Hoboken. It's a system realtors use to convert expired listings to re-listing with them. These systems have great scripts. Script after script after script, all with the objective of getting an appointment to sell your home. So after you hear several of these pitches, you bite and the "New" realtor comes over for a marketing presentation. Guess what the first thing they don't do is???? Raise the price. I'm betting there's no script that says "Wow Mr. Seller, the truth is the reason your previous realtor didn't sell your place was because it was way underpriced. I think we chould raise it." See for the "Expired Hunters", its about getting your listing and getting price reductions. Back to the TRUTH: For sellers who dont' want to see it. Some Hunters will take your listing at any price and then pressure you into lowering your price later. Where is the marketing aspect? It's about the price. It's about the price. (Did I say that already?)

46 Expired in the last 30 days

165 Price reductions in the last 30 days.

Don't be that guy. Swallow a dose of reality up front when you are choosing from a pool of realtors that focus on marketing and sales, work constantly with your realtor, hear the TRUTH. Otherwise you'll be thrown into the pool focused on a wounded animal (your over priced expired property).

The market is changing; you can either change with it or change your phone number.

Hoboken Real Estate

Price changes last 30 days 165

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

No Parking. No Sale.

...Back to the old Fram oil filter commercial with the tag line "you can pay me now, or pay me later"? As a kid, I never really got that. As a home owner, I definitely get it. ... A few dollars today can save a whole lot tomorrow. Well here the old axiom is rearing its ugly head in the form of parking.

There are 365 two or three bedroom condos on the market. 212 of them don't have deeded parking. ooops. Now if you're on Bloomfield or Garden street, no big deal. But there are ten on Monroe and four on Madison. Oh that's tough. The price is really going to have to be good to make someone take it. I can understand the person who bought a place with no parking in the building. It is what it is. They got a good deal. It's the condo owners who passed on the parking as part of the new construction that get me. You are the Steve Bartman of Hoboken now. If it cost $30k more for the spot when buying, you're going to have to knock double that off to get it sold without.

So these owners are part of the "Pay Me Later" crowd.

Hoboken Real Estate

2 BR+ Condos

No Deeded Parking
Available 212
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Politics.

I am truly amazed by what happened last night. Can you believe that the election was over by 10pm? How great is that? No extra innings, No overtime. The kids can stay up a little later, see the results, watch the crowds cheer and go to bed. The NBA and MLB could take a lesson.

Another thing about the election. Did you see how much money was spent??? How much money was raised??? This is the problem with politics. It costs too much. Winners owe somebody and they always have to pay.

Imagine if Hoboken went to online elections. You could vote from home or at work. Imagine a campaign run mostly through the internet!!! No one to owe. We might get our taxes back in order...three bedrooms might sell again.

Hoboken Real Estate

3 BR CondosUnder contract since Sept 1st 3

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Don't Read This. Please.

There's a secret in the real estate community that no one wants to talk about. Realtors especially don't want their buyers and sellers to know the secret.

Here it is. Right now, in this market, today, November 3rd, the day before election day.....no one knows where the Hoboken real estate market is. Buyers are siting on the sidelines trying to time the bottom of the market and sellers are chasing a different market that we use to operate in six weeks ago.

Here it is in a nutshell. You have 523 condos available and only 16 under contract since October 1st. This leads to the big two questions:

1) How does a seller price a property with no one buying?

2) How does a buyer make an offer and not worry that market will fall some more?

And did I mention the tax increase looming over the market?

Let's look at this one point at a time.

Sellers: Be realistic. Assuming you have to sell or really, really want to sell price it lower than the competition. Much lower. Practically give it away. It hurts to read but guess what the handful of buyers out there are expecting? A bargain. And that's exactly what the should be getting. A bargain over summertime prices. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes...

Buyers: Be realistic. Know a bargain when you see one. Look at the stats. Know the value/today's price range. If you are worried about the housing market going down another 10-15%, rent. If you want to buy, provide a fair price. For example condos close to the PATH were selling for $550/sqft three months ago. If you can get that same condo today for $450/sqft that's a very fair price. That's an 18% reduction. This takes into account the market drop plus a drop for increased taxes. Put yourself in the seller's shoes. At some price, they will carry it vacant or rent it to weather the market. Right now you can pick up a great condo for a price that will make your friends envious.

Hoboken Real Estate

October Condos
Sold 84

Median DOM 68

Median Sale Price $467k

One bedrooms sold 33
Two bedrooms sold 49

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed