New Jersey has suffered years of stagnated condominium sales but real estate market statistics indicate things are heating up in the Garden State for owners and developers of condos. In fact, several developers are reviving projects in addition to offering units located in prime areas for people interested in purchasing condominiums. The New Jersey real estate industry recently reported that buyers in Weehawken have endorsed numerous contracts for construction of apartments on the riverfront, with 35 out of the 36 buildings already contracted out. Just a short distance away from Weehawken, developers in Palisades Park are busy converting luxury rental units into condos while more developers on the Jersey Shore are preparing for the availability of 44 brand new units in the coming month.
This is great news for the New Jersey real estate market, which has experienced a much slower recovery than New York City, where sales of condominiums quickly rebounded after the recession of 2008. Because of the housing crisis, lending institutions balked at financing new construction of condos and interested buyers saw mortgage approvals slide downward dramatically. Consequently, developers temporarily gave up on pursuing condominium projects and turned to the rental market for income. But now that signs point to an escalating interest in condos, developers are realizing with the low amount of condos available for sale and NYC experiencing a thriving real estate market, the opportunity for New Jersey to start selling again is there just waiting to be seized and acted on with a vengeance.
According to Craig Klingensmith, developing company Lennar Urban’s division president, the market appears as if it is going to continue growing stronger so good properties offering excellent locations will not take long to be transferred in New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Klingensmith’s company, Lennar and Roseland, is planning to complete construction on a large condo and townhouse community called “Henley on the Hudson” in the next several months. Units contained in this state of the art condominium are priced at $570,000 for a one-bedroom and $1.7 million for more spacious, three bedroom units providing a fireplace, balcony and view of the city. Nearly 25 buyers have already expressed interest in the building, with the majority of buyers coming from Russia, China and Korea.
Real estate sales have been escalating in northern New Jersey since last year. Hudson County reports an 18 percent increase in prices while Bergen County has seen an almost eight percent jump in property values over the past 12 months. Many people purchasing condos in New Jersey view this investment as a way to improve their chances of buying single family suburban homes, the type of popular real estate which comprises most of New Jersey’s real estate market. With people showing confidence in the belief that the recession is finally over, real estate insiders are spilling the scoop about what a great time it is to start investing in real estate again in New Jersey before everyone else decides to jump on the return of the housing bandwagon.