Less Luster on the ?Gold Coast?


Custom renovation is offered when a unit turns over at Hudson Tea, left. At The Beacon, center, asking prices for some one- bedrooms are off 30 percent. At 159 Newark Street, right, a large loft was cut to $455,000 from $510,000.

The New York Times
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: October 29, 2010

In Hudson County, the once-shining Camelot of New Jersey?s housing market, condominiums are still king. In every month so far this year, 5 to 10 times as many condos as single-family houses were sold.

But that is not to say the picture is shiny for the Gold Coast in general, or condos in particular.

In fact, as of Oct. 1, there was a 15-month inventory of unsold condominiums, just as there was for single-family houses, according to an analysis of sales statistics done by the Otteau Valuation Group of New Brunswick. Translation: If no more units were listed for sale, it would take 15 months to sell those already listed, at the current sales pace.

A six-month inventory is what real estate professionals consider healthy.

In Hoboken the inventory was just over nine months. In Jersey City it had swelled to 17.6 months. In specific Jersey City neighborhoods, the situation varied: a 13-month inventory downtown, where more than 400 condos are for sale; 42 months (three and a half years) for Journal Square, where 200 apartments are listed and sales are very sparse.

Elsewhere, in three communities where the massive Port Imperial development is ensconced along the riverfront ? Weehawken, West New York and Guttenberg ? inventory levels ranged from 19 months to 2 years.

Inventories grew despite widespread cuts in price for both new construction and resales, as any home shopper might glean from all the ?reduced? notices on Web sites.

At some developments ? Port Libert? in Jersey City, for instance ? virtually every list price for new units has been reduced, and many condos are being rented instead of sold.

Although Hudson County used to set records for condo prices, sales today in the upper reaches are close to a standstill. A contract was signed last March on a four-bedroom penthouse at the Constitution in Hoboken, listed at $2.6 million; the sale recently closed at a final price of $2.2 million.

Sales from $1 million to $2.5 million averaged two per month. At the start of October, the inventory for this price level stood at 25 months. Condos priced from $600,000 to $1 million have sold more quickly; the county?s inventory was 11 months.

One project ? the new Crystal Point tower in Jersey City ? did report a burst of activity in early October in this price range. Nine contracts were signed in the first two weeks of the month, six of which were for units priced over $1 million, said the Marketing Directors, agents for the project.

But the bulk of condos ? roughly 80 percent of those being sold at this point ? are priced under $600,000.

At the Beacon in Jersey City, asking prices for the remaining one-bedrooms at the Rialto and Capitol buildings are set in the $300,000s, down 30 percent from the peak four years ago. Recently, said George Filopoulos, the developer, there has been a small flurry of activity.

?We had 11 sales in the last 3 weeks,? said Mr. Filopoulos, the president of Metrovest Equities. He described the sales velocity as ?modest,? but he added, ?We haven?t seen anything like that since ?06.?

Whatever the reason, he added: ?We see buyers coming in who are decisive now, not whimsical. They look at everything else the market has to offer, and if they see a unit priced well below other buildings, they make a real offer, and there is no need to negotiate.?

Another Beacon project, Mercury Lofts, offers half- or full-floor live/work spaces priced from $800,000 to $1.6 million.

One of the Jersey City market?s big problems is that new projects keep opening there all the time. There were hundreds of units under construction three years ago as the housing market crumpled. Developers found ways to finish the work, but found the appetite for condos had been sated. Total sales did increase this year, but inventory levels increased much more.

In Hoboken, where sales have been flat since midsummer, newer buildings are still offering buyers a free period on service contracts. Some, like the Hudson Teacomplex, have added to the array of services ? for instance, custom renovations ? offered when a unit turns over.

At older buildings, and those a few blocks farther from the waterfront, price reductions are still considerable. An 830-square-foot renovated corner unit on First Street with a large deck was listed at $449,000 in June, reduced in August, and reduced further in October, to $408,000.

A somewhat larger loft unit on Newark Street, also renovated, with one and a half baths and a private roof deck, sold for $320,000 in 2003 and was offered for $510,000 last spring. In October the price was cut to $455,000.

A version of this article appeared in print on October 31, 2010, on page RE9 of the New York edition.