Hoboken, get ready for the $6 million home. Just one day after a 6,600-square-foot Castle Point mansion closed for $4.35 million two weeks ago, shattering the record for the most expensive house sale in Hoboken history, half of the 22nd floor of the W Hotel was listed for $6.6 million, enough to become the most expensive condo ever sold in Hoboken if the asking price is met.
Though the two properties are clear outliers in terms of opulence and size, their breathtaking prices are emblematic of a red hot seller’s market in Hoboken. According to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage sales associate Lori Turoff, the average condo sale price in Hoboken last month was $716,115, up from a $603,235 monthly average just year ago.
Though new units continue to trickle onto the Hoboken market, including at least 210 luxury condos in a northeast Hoboken tower scheduled to open next winter, they are not nearly enough to match the burgeoning demand for the jewel of the Gold Coast, real estate agents say.
Hoboken’s attributes are by now well-known to high end buyers across the Tri-State Area—a comparable feel and level of amenities to New York City but with more space and lower costs.
Though Hoboken is seemingly seeing new record sales every year, it still lags significantly behind Brooklyn and Manhattan. Turoff found an average sale price of around $631,000 in Hoboken for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $749,000 in Brooklyn and $1.73 million in Manhattan over the same period, according to a report by brokerage firm Douglas Elliman.
Castle Point capital
The new record holder for most expensive house sale in Hoboken history, 925 Hudson St., closed for $4.35 million on June 1. The house easily topped the previous city-wide mark, $3.5 million, set by its neighbor two doors down, 913 Hudson St., last June, according to the Hudson County Multiple Listing Service.
“The new buyers chose Hoboken for its easy commute into New York City and the hard-to-beat city amenities,” said RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty broker Edward Perez in a press release. “They are selling their much smaller home in pricier Brooklyn and in return are getting the home of their dreams along with an awesome lifestyle.”
Had a house of similar quality and accessibility been sold in Brooklyn, it would have been at least twice as expensive, said Perez.
“It’s not often that you walk into full turn-of-the-century home and not have one issue in a property inspection.”—Edward Perez
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A Queen Anne style town house built in 1901, 925 Hudson St. was meticulously renovated by its former owners, according to Perez. City tax records list the former owners as Julian and Gretchen Brigden, the co-founders of Macro Intelligence 2 Partners, a financial research firm.
The mansion is 28 feet wide and boasts seven bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a back patio, and a full working elevator.
Perez called the building “one of finest homes I’ve ever been in.”
“It’s not often that you walk into full turn-of-the-century home and not have one issue in a property inspection,” he added.
Notwithstanding the unique qualities of 925 Hudson St., Perez said he did not expect its sale price to remain the record for long in Hoboken. With New York City prices showing no signs of peaking, he said, value-seeking upscale buyers will continue flocking to Hoboken.
“Most people feel we’re just an extension of Manhattan because Hoboken is so interconnected in terms of the PATH, the bus and the ferry,” said Perez. “Most people feel that you’re in Manhattan without being confined by Manhattan.”
(Hudson Place Realty was the listing office for both record-setting sales on Hudson Street; Jon Sisti listed 913 Hudson and Bo Dziman listed 925 Hudson. And just last week, they added another listing in that record-setting category: 907 Castle Point Terrace for $4.75 million.)
Deluxe apartment in the sky
The same opportunities are also driving prices in Hoboken’s condominium market. Last week, Avenue Residential broker Kristin Ehrgott listed two condos on the 22nd floor of the W Hotel that will be combined for $6.6 million, which will easily become the most expensive condo in Hoboken history if sold.
According to the Hudson County Multiple Listing Service, the current condo sale record in Hoboken is $2.8 million, set in 2012 when former Gov. Jon Corzine sold his two-bedroom condo at 1025 Maxwell Place.
Intended to be combined into one 4,300-square-foot mega-condo by their new owner, the W Hotel units together offer five bedrooms, two valet parking spots, and three balconies with commanding views of the Midtown skyline and Hudson River. In addition, they afford access to all the amenities of the W Hotel, including private concierge service, housekeeping, room service, lounges, a fitness center, a Bliss Spa, and the upscale Zylo steakhouse.
As an added bonus, because the W Hotel operates under a 98-year land lease granted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the future owner of the condos will get to pay a structured annual lease payment in lieu of property taxes. Whereas annual taxes could top $94,000 for a property of this value, the lease payment is only around $18,000 per year, according to Ehrgott.
“There has never been a condo like this available in Hoboken or on the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey,” she said.
Despite its unique qualities, Ehrgott said she only expected the W Hotel property to hold the record for most expensive Hoboken condo for two to three years, if and when it is sold, noting that prices for similar residences in Manhattan are already two to three times higher and growing.
“Five years ago, Brooklyn was at our level in terms of prices,” said Ehrgott. Now the most expensive house on the market in Brooklyn is a $40 million, 17,500-square-foot brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Maybe that’s the direction we’re headed in,” she added.
Manning’s condo up
Even if Ehrgott’s W Hotel condos don’t sell or don’t meet their asking price, another property on the market could set the record for most expensive condo in Hoboken history. Last month, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo combining three units in the ritzy uptown Hudson Tea Building was listed for $5.2 million by Douglas Elliman real estate broker Lisa Poggi.
According to city tax records, the condo is owned by New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his wife Abby, who has lived in the Tea Building since 2008.
According to a listing on Zillow, Manning’s condo units “span the South East corner of the renowned Hudson Tea Building resulting in a truly distinctive plan that offers over 3,500 square feet of luxurious living while revealing breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the NYC Skyline.”
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.