7/18/2009:

[Continuing a new article series called "Hobokenomics 101" with contributor Mark Perry. His inaugural entry was about Real Estate in general, back in June.]

Hobokenomics 101: Hoboken’s Power to Draw

By Mark Perry

Well, the growing unemployment numbers and their subsequent effect on Wall Street recently was not a good one for the global, national, and regional economy. That also equates to more bad news for Hoboken property owners… unless one is looking to start snatching up distressed properties (….I’ll address that strategy in an upcoming piece). One probably suspected from the Lehman bankruptcy 3Q last year this would not be an easy or quick recovery. Although there have been some bright spots, there still isn’t a sense of a full-blown bottoming out, which is disappointing to even the most bullish of people. All things considered- it could have been a totally downbeat week….

But alas, our recent 4th of July – (as this website copiously covered) – the Macy’s Fireworks were on “our” side of the River. From my view the entire day was a total showcase of all that is positive about this area- and its ability to be one of the first places to benefit from the inevitable favorable shift in the economic winds.

As a little background, I was fortunate in that I have a friend who lives in an east-facing unit at The Doric – the big alabaster monolith on top of the cliff along the western border of Hoboken- which was a perfect perch to enjoy the show.

Sure- the people on the piers and on the boats had an unbelievable view as well, but being on a high floor on a high cliff with nothing in front was like having an opera box reserved for the event taking in the whole panorama. The Doric has one of the best views of the area, and that was taken advantage of by NBC 4 who set up a camera crew on the roof. Since traffic was still pretty thick hours afterwards, I walked back to Hoboken- going down the Light Rail Elevator and straight east up 9th Street.

The event itself plus the stroll back home afterward put me in a much better mindset- mostly because of three things I observed.

See what the “three” were – after the jump!

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Technorati Tags: article, Hoboken, Hoboken411, Hobokenomics 101, Mark Perry, NJ, Opinion, Real Estate Businesses

7/2/2009:

Celebrate: A new contributor!

Introducing the newest Hoboken411 contributor: Mark Perry!

Mark has been a lifelong Hoboken resident – with over 10+ years in the Real Estate industry (commercial broker/analyst). A graduate of Xavier High School and Loyola University, a horrific golfer, a bonafide Starbucks lover, WOW player and top team at Trinity’s Tuesday Trivia contest – he will share his perspective on relevant Hoboken topics on a (hopefully) regular basis!

Please welcome Mark – and his first Hoboken411 column!

Hobokenomics 101: The Real Estate Market

Introduction and Basics
First, a quick introduction- any walk down Washington Street is evidence that Hoboken’s major industry is Real Estate.

I don’t profess to be an omniscient guru of any sort, but I have substantial knowledge of the Hoboken Real Estate market, and not just sales/rentals but historical perspective. In the interest of full disclosure I am a licensed real estate salesperson in Hoboken, but the intent here is not to sell anything, it’s to inform. This contribution to Hoboken411.com is the first of many I intend to make, and will be just a few broad basics as background for upcoming pieces. Future contributions will focus on various topics of interest related to Hoboken Real Estate; e.g. evaluating renovations in older properties, living above food service/bars as owner or tenant, westside flooding and its effect on property values, etc, etc.

Real Estate topics are always fertile ground for interest as housing tends to be among the biggest expenses for the average American. This is particularly true in Hoboken.

Hoboken is an attractive urban center of approximately 37,000 souls in a little over a square mile; its housing stock reflects this by being expensive and dynamic. Making sense of Real Estate data is difficult for the average person, because in contrast to shares of stock or any other asset class, no two pieces of property are exactly alike – and therefore have different market values. Also, owners of properties are subject to many factors (death in the family, loss/relocation of a job, emotional attachment to property) that effect what compensation they want for their asset when a trade happens. This seems to be even truer in Hoboken, where properties very close to each other and nearly identical on paper could have dramatically different values. That said, there will be no magic bullets here, but hopefully something written by me will be useful to you in deciphering a topic related to Hoboken Real Estate that may help you get you your own “Eureka” moment.

READ THE REST AFTER THE JUMP!!

[Click to continue reading the rest....]

Technorati Tags: Column, Hoboken411, Hot Topics, Interest, Mark Perry, Real Estate Businesses