Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of May 1st

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of May 1st &2nd.

There are 43 advertised Hoboken open houses!!! Arts Festival Weekend!

14 Studios and one bedrooms
23 two bedrooms
6 three plus bedrooms

visit http://www.hobokenopenhousemap.com/ to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

A Sale That's Not A Sale

A Sale That's Not A Sale

The Homebuyer Tax Credit isn't even in the can and the marketing gimmicks are out to get buyers buying. .....A shameless ploy to bring buyers through the doors..... Here's a preview:

National Real Estate Company Not Named RE/MAX Buyer Bonus

Missed the home buyer tax credit?

Now there's an even better Buyer Bonus!

May 1st - July 31st

Get up to an $8,000 credit back at closing.

Participating properties will appear beginning May 1st. Come back to search for your dream home!

The National Real Estate Company Not Named RE/MAX Buyer Bonus Event is a national sales promotion that begins on May 1st and lasts through July 31st, 2010. Sellers participating in the promotion are giving 3% of the accepted offer price up to $8,000 credit at closing back to homebuyers who sign an offer before the July 31st deadline.

Open to all home buyers - No income limitations - No property eligibility requirements

The home buyer tax credit has come and gone. Fortunately, the door is now open to something even better - the National Real Estate Company Not Named RE/MAX Buyer Bonus Event! But hurry, The Buyer Bonus is a limited-time offer.

Let's look at the facts of this "Big Event".

1) Upto $8000. Any property under $266,667 is getting less.

2) Banks love when sellers give money back. They allow for up to the closing costs. (According to the IHRE Mortgage guy, it's likely less than 3% on a $400k purchase.) What happens when you have a $1000 home inspection issue. If the seller gives the $1000, bet I know which 3% that comes out of.

3) "Participating" sellers also know that you are going to get another 3% when negotiations are finalized. Bet most of these sellers have a bottom line too. It's not like walking into some store with an internet coupon that you whip out after making your best deal.

4) Limited Time Offer. In the Hoboken market where the average discount to sale price is 5%, what does this 3% thing mean. It's like walking onto a used car lot and seeing all cars are 3% off this weekend only. Think you might be able to negotiate a 3% discount on your own this weekend, next weekend, next month, next year??? Might this be a line of reasoning that the seller's agent is using to get the seller to agree to participate?

5) Let's combine numbers two and three in a perfect storm scenario. Buyer wants a place for $400k Sellers bottom line number is $400k. They settle at $408k with an $8000 rebate. Home inspections issues are $10,000. Maximum seller concession is 3% or $12,000. Seller gives $10,000 for home inspection issues and $2,000 rebate. Buyer pays $406k, not $400k. I can hear this deal blowing up all the way across town.

So to recap. Buyers will be rushing in to 1) sometimes get less than the $8000. 2)Have the "rebate" lessened by other seller concessions. 3) Be negotiating against themselves and 4) getting worse or the same deal they can get on their own in most cases. 5) an unstable situation where purchases are likely to fail during home inspection.

This is what I call a win-win. Kudos to the marketing genius that came up with this one.....Probably an Ohio State grad. Names have been changed to keep that guy in a job and off the city's payroll....He has a cousin...need I say more.

A Sale That's Not A Sale

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 19-26

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 19-26

45 New to Market
61 Price Changes
18 Under Contract
28 Sold

Heading to a post tax credit world. Few new to market. More price reductions...

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: if you click on the links in the speadsheet, it opens a page with more info about the property. If you want to see additional pictures, you must register. I didn't make the system.




This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 19-26

Attention Post Tax Credit Hoboken Buyers: The greatest time to buy a home in the history of mankind is now.

Attention Post Tax Credit Hoboken Buyers: The greatest time to buy a home in the history of mankind is now.

I am not given to hyperbole. Okay I am but maybe not so much in this case. There are several factors coming together right now that have created a perfect storm for buyers in Hoboken's real estate market. Let's look at the contributing facts.

1) Inventory is up. The guts if the Hoboken real estate market are condos priced between $350,000 and $550,000. Coincidently, this range is the upper range of buyers who are under the income limit for the homebuyer tax credit but can still qualify for a mortgage. Interestingly, at the higher end of this range buyers would like to get the credit but are not rushing into a property for what is essentially a two percent discount. Thus despite the sharp rise in the number of contracts in March and April , there was an even greater number of condos coming onto the market. The total number of available condos rose over 25% from January 15th to April 15th.

What happened? Sellers decided to get in the game. There were a lot of buyers out there with $8000 to spend. So sellers got off of the sidelines. An important item to remember is emotion. Some of these sellers have checked out. They are already planning their next move. They probably went to Ridgewood or Maplewood or Westfield to check out the town. They've done some online searching and maybe attended an open house. These sellers fall in the category of don't have to move but now really, really want to move. This checked out seller is a motivated seller. Motivated does not mean going to give the house away at a fire sale price. It means there is likely another 3-5% to be negotiated from pre tax credit pricing.

To recap: Inventory is up. Buyers have choice. There are good deals.

2) Low interest rates. You've heard it all before. The interest rates are low. They've been low for a long time and from every expert you listen to they will rise. Next week, next month, next quarter....definitely by next year. No big deal? A little one percent pop in rates is worse than a 10% price increase. Do the math. Your cost of ownership goes up with every tick in your mortgage. Locked in for the life if your loan. The old adage buy low, sell high. It's low.
To recap: Only one way for interest rates to go.

3) This is not the depression. Doesn't it seem like whenever homes are on sale, you have no money. If I had a nickel for every old timer that said "I could have bought that place for $10,000 in 1970 and it's worth $2,000,000 today". When the market is depressed most people are depressed to. Economy in the tank and your worried about your job = you don't buy. Need to hoard cash because times could get tough. Well seven times more millionaires are made in tough economic times than in good ones. There's more upside when prices are down. And if you've seen those bonuses coming out of Wall Street, 1929 is not just around the corner.

4 & 5) Summer time and the money is easy. Check the calendar. Check the weather. Spring has sprung. April showers almost over. May flowers pushing on through. Before you've has a chance to analyze your fantasy baseball team, it's flag day and the beginning of summer. Sellers know this. That ticking sound is the clock in the buyer's head that sends him to the beach and away from thoughts about buying homes. Sellers who don't want to risk waiting for a fall market to materialize should be willing to bargain.

Did anyone notice that the credit crunch is over for buyers with good credit. HFA loans, 10% down loans and even 5% down loans are all the rage. It's good to be able to shop with confidence.

6) Buyers are resting. The race for the $8000 is over. Some buyers will invariably take a break until fall when they can be part of a crowd again. The beach is nice in the summer. Gas grills go on sale in the fall. Why? maybe Home Depot has learned that no one needs a grill to cook Thanksgiving turkey and it costs them a whole lot more to store them than to sell them and bring in the snow shovels.

So if you're a would be condo buyer in the Hoboken real estate market, are you excited yet? I am. I am excited because I know that I will be able to find you a home for a good price and you'll be able to get a mortgage. Moreover, there won't be a lot of pesky competition that fill sellers heads with price wars and above asking offers.

Yes. Summertime and the living is easy.

Buyers who disregard this analysis as the ramblings of a realtor suffering from post tax credit anxiety, do so at their own peril.

A little info to help buyers and sellers in a post tax credit world....

Q1, 2010 Hoboken Real Estate Report This report will give you a breakdown of the one the two and the three bedroom condo markets and a list of every condo sold in Q1.

Additionally, the latest version of my Hoboken Real Estate Trend Report is available

Also, I encourage you to sign up for my Hoboken Market Snapshot Report which sends a free customized report of a market segment. (i.e. one bedroom, one bath) on a biweekly or monthly basis. It's great for sellers and buyers alike.

Don't forget to check back here at www.insidehobokenrealestate.com for a weekly report on Mondays with new to the market, price changes, under contracts and solds. The Friday entry contains all of the open houses in Hoboken (www.hobokenopenhousemap.com)

I strive to give my clients, both sellers and buyers, a comprehensive and insightful look into the real time Hoboken market data which is not readily available from other realtors.

Please let me know how I can be of further service in your real estate needs

Attention Post Tax Credit Hoboken Buyers: The greatest time to buy a home in the history of mankind is now.

Hoboken Open House Directory Weekend of April 24th and 25th

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of April 24th &25th.

There are 67 advertised Hoboken open houses!!! Market still strong.

18 Studios and one bedrooms
39 two bedrooms
8 three plus bedrooms

visit http://www.hobokenopenhousemap.com/ to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

Hoboken Realtors: Misguided Ad Men

Somewhere David Olgivy is turning over in his grave somewhere while searching for property in Hoboken. (Hey when your in a 3x7 "garden level studio" you're always looking for more space.)

I know copywriters. I know good professional copywriters. I know ad people. I know good ad people. I know marketing people. I know good marketing people. And I know what skilled professionals are capable of. I also know when some realtor is using parlor tricks because they think some smoke and mirrors stunt is going to get people interested in their listing.

I could still be on tilt from the last two days....while dropping my three and five year old at a prestigious Hoboken public school. Day 1. both security guards not securitying but across the street smoking cigarettes like defiant teenagers. Day 2. Almost hit the crossing guard at the corner of 5th and Park as she is standing in the road having a smoke chatting with our local meter maid. This is not after hours but during prime drop off time.

So I am steamed. I am sure other security and crossing guards would be steamed to know that a few bad apples are giving them all a bad name.

So there's Mr. Olgivy looking at some places.
Here's one: blah blah blah...price available upon request. Is this some Crazy Eddie interent special "soooo good that we can't mention the price out loud." I may attract way too many buyers if everyone know the price.

Here's another: The copy reads..."this condo has it all." Except it is on the 5th floor and there is no elevator. ... All but an elevator. Think buyers might be fooled into thinking that all means elevator too?

Yet another. "A rare find." Two pictures , one is of the rooftops of Hoboken and a sliver of the Empire State Building. can't wait to see that one.

Speaking of pictures. I am thinking that unless your toilet is made of gold, there really isn't a reason to show a picture of it. Can see a buyer now....scanning through listings at www.hobokenhomefinder.com .... "Hey honey come here. Look at this one. It has a toilet.... Inside the apartment. And it's white! "



The only caveat to the toilet pics being if your house looks like a toilet....ahhh but I bet its crappy inside.

Don't forget my Q1, 2010 Hoboken Real Estate Report. It's free and available.






Hoboken Real Estate 2010
Available Condos 556
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Interest Rates & The Fed Exit

A great article by a good friend of IHRE...

Interest Rates – Two Weeks after the Fed’s Exit

by Steve Harney on April 20, 2010

industries waited to see what reaction the mortgage market would have to the Fed exiting its purchase of mortgage-backed-securities last month. Would there be ample demand from the private sector? At what price?

The predictions of where 30 year mortgage rates would settle were all over the map. Some called for as little as a ¼ point increase, while others were predicting as much as a 2 percent increase by the end of 2010. It is still too early to evaluate the impact, but let’s look at what we know two weeks after the Fed’s exit.

What has happened so far?

The Fed exit was gradual and well reported. Because of that, pricing was affected even before the exit. Rates started increasing as early as December last year and have gone up over ¼ point already. (Graph #1)

Rates spiked the first week after the exit, and many feared that was a precursor to a long and dramatic rise in rates. Rates dropped as significantly in the second week as they had risen in the first. (Graph #2)

Where does this leave us?

HSH Associates, a company that follows mortgage rates nationally, recently explained:

These kinds of “two steps forward, one step back” patterns aren’t unusual at all early in an economic recovery, but it is worth noting that as they occur, the general working range for interest rates does tend to tick slightly higher as time progresses.

A New York Times’ article last week titled Interest Rates Have Nowhere to Go but Up reported:

The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the rise to continue, with the 30-year mortgage rate going to 5.5 percent by late summer and as high as 6 percent by the end of the year … Some firms, like Morgan Stanley, are predicting that rates could rise by a percentage point and a half by the end of the year. Others, like JPMorgan Chase are forecasting a more modest half-point jump.

Even the experts can’t agree.

What does history tell us?

Below we have graphed 30 year mortgage interest rates over the last 15 years. Outside the last year (2009), where Fed involvement kept rates artificially low, rates stayed in a band between 5.83 and 8.05.

I believe that we will return to the lower section of that band at least. And where were rates immediately preceding government intervention? At above 6%.

What does this mean to you?

Please take into consideration the impact rising rates will have on the cost over 30 years if you are thinking about buying a first home or moving-up to a different home. Remember, a 1% increase in mortgage rates wipes out the savings on a 10% decrease in price. Perhaps you should make that move sooner than later.

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate April 12-19

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 12-19

69 New to Market
54 Price Changes
21 Under Contract
20 Sold

The market keeps getting bigger. More to the market than sold....Last week for the $8000 tax credit. Tax Appeal Gone, Tax credit going, Is it panic time?....



This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 5-19

Hoboken Open House Map April 17th, 18th

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of April 17th &18th.

There are 58 advertised Hoboken open houses!!! Down from 84 last week. Are realtors burned out?

18 Studios and one bedrooms
31 two bedrooms
9 three plus bedrooms

visit http://www.hobokenopenhousemap.com/ to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

Hoboken Market Report Q1, 2010

Hoboken Market Report Q1,2010

Less than two weeks into the second quarter and I've finally gotten the first quarter report done. I blame the delay on that other report due to my uncle, which I had to make sure that I got out by April 15th.

So, How Is The Market?

Simple: Follow the condos under contract to see the real picture of Hoboken real estate. It spiked in October as the home buyer tax credit was set to expire and it is spiking again as the extended and expanded tax credit may expire for real this time.

So is it a fake market propelled by a front load of buyers taking advantage of the tax credit or is it a truly robust market buoyed by the rebound on Wall Street and subsequent bonuses?

...Maybe both.


Th Hoboken real estate market is a little different. Given the home values, there are still a lot of potential buyers who don't qualify for the tax credit or who won't let $8,000 influence the timing of their condo purchase.

The upper end of the Hoboken condo market is taking a beating. Only 25 of the 137 sales were over $600k. Prices are sliding back into the $500s, $400s, $300s and even $200s. In essence, Hoboken has become more affordable. With the help of the tax credit, more buyers are able to afford something on the lower end and also with the increased inventories on the upper end, buyers are able to trade up.

What happens after April 30th??? It's the eight thousand dollar question. Right now both buyers and sellers can review my Hoboken Real Estate report for a look back on Q1,2010. Additionally, I recommend that you review the latest Hoboken real estate trends.

Hoboken Market Report Q1,2010

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 5-12

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 5-12

67 New to Market
59 Price Changes
20 Under Contract
12 Sold

The market keeps getting bigger. More to the market than sold....Last week for the $8000 tax credit. Tax Appeal Gone, Tax credit going, Is it panic time?....



This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: April 5-12

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of April 10th & 11th

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of April 10th &11th.

There are 84 advertised Hoboken open houses!!! Spring has sprung in Hoboken.

35 Studios and one bedrooms
41 two bedrooms
8 three plus bedrooms

visit http://www.hobokenopenhousemap.com/ to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: March 29-April 5

This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: March 29-April 5

38 New to Market
45 Price Changes
12 Under Contract
18 Sold

The market keeps getting bigger. More to the market than sold....Sellers beware, if this keeps up the $8000 tax credit will not save you. Time is ticking....but hey some people didn't file for a tax appeal either....




This Week In Hoboken Real Estate: March 29-April 5

Hoboken Open House Map April 3 & 4

Hoboken Open House Map for the weekend of April 3rd &4th.

There are 15 advertised Hoboken open houses!!! Down from 84 last week. Egg Hunts and chocolate bunnies for everyone.

7 Studios and one bedrooms
8 two bedrooms
0 three plus bedrooms

visit http://www.hobokenopenhousemap.com/ to sort by price or number of bedrooms.

Mortgage Rates: No April Foolin

From the IHRE Mortgage Guy...

REVISED April 1^st, 2010---- 11:45 PM ET
Lock Period = 30 Days

CONVENTIONAL CONFORMING LOANS (loans less than or equal to $417,000)

30 YEAR FIXED ---------------------------- 5.000%/ 4.891% APR

30 YEAR FIXED INTEREST ONLY--- 5.375%/ 5.657% APR

15 YEAR FIXED----------------------------- 4.375%/ 4.411% APR

5 / 1 ARM------------------------------------- 3.750%/ 3.321% APR

7/1 ARM ------------------------------------ 4.125%/ 3.816% APR

* All quotes are with 0 points
*Investment Properties --- ** Add 1.75 points (if 25% down)**
*There is a rate increase for cash-out refinance transactions over 60% Loan to Value, or condominiums over 75% LTV

CONVENTIONAL HIGH BALANCE CONFORMING FIXED RATE LOANS (loans greater than $417,000, but less than $729,500)

30 YEAR FIXED ------------------------- 5.250%/ 5.131% APR

15 YEAR FIXED ------------------------- 4.750%/ 4.641% APR

** Loan amount restrictions based on county and property type.

***There is a rate increase for cash-out refinance transactions over 60% Loan to Value, or condominiums over 75% LTV

CONVENTIONAL JUMBO LOANS (Fixed rate programs greater than high-balance conforming, ARM programs greater than $417,000.. up to $1,000,000 loan amount)

30 YEAR FIXED--------------------------- 5.625%/ 5.891% APR

30 YEAR FIXED INTEREST ONLY-- 5.875%/ 6.131% APR
15 YEAR FIXED--------------------------- 4.875%/ 5.140% APR
5 / 1 ARM------------------------------------- 4.375%/ 4.316%APR

7/1 ARM -------------------------------------- 4.625%/ 4.556% APR

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

*** Special Program 15/ 30 ARM -----5.000% / 4.922% APR -- .50% Points --- Loans up to $1,000,000!!!

**Please call for rates on loans over $1 million or rates on FHA loans**

Total Fees Charged By Pinnacle Mortgage, Inc.

$350.00 -- Application Fee (Includes Appraisal, Lock-in, Credit, Flood & Processing)
$395.00 -- Commitment Fee (Wiring Funds, Attorney Review & Doc Preparation)

Michael Mundy
Pinnacle Mortgage, Inc.
mmundy@pinnaclemortgage.biz

www.mundymortgages.com