Despite its quiet backwater charms, Hudson County in The Garden State used to be nicknamed “The Gold Coast” due to its proximity to the financial district of neighboring New York City. Thanks to The Great Recession, however, properties have been on the market for up to well over a year – despite repeated discounts – and there appears to be no end in sight for exasperated sellers.
It’s true that local properties are being sold regularly, if not rapidly. However, the backlog of inventory for condominiums and single-family houses is tremendous. The way things are, it might be some twenty-four months before everything is moved…unless new offerings become available!
Compare that to the typical six-month inventory that industry professionals consider the sign of a healthy market.
Of course, such alarming facts speak only to the region as a whole, and some areas are doing much better than the others, as can be imagined. Still, from Jersey City to West New York; from Weehawken to Guttenberg; the news is grim, no matter if we’re talking about new developments or old blight.
Indeed, local trends have mirrored national ones reported from Portland, Oregon and Dallas, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Cleveland, Ohio, despite the proximity of Hudson County to New York City and its world-class economy. Even as prices keep falling, there is hardly anyone who’s interested in buying in this kind of an economy. It’s a singular situation that even professionals such as real estate developer Isaac Toussie have not seen before, where even with the prevalence of bargains sales should still remain flat!
But of course, what person in his or her right mind would sign up, never mind give, a multi-decade loan in this kind of an economy?