New Hoboken Luxury Development "The Artisan" Sells For Big Bucks

     Hoboken, one of the most exciting and visited nightlife spots in New Jersey, is drawing in more and more upscale renters constantly. Proximity to New York, popular bars and restaurants, city like atmosphere, and a great view of NYC just over the Hudson are all reasons why people want to live in Hoboken. Due to the high rent demand in Hoboken, the need for new upscale development was overdue. That need was realized by Argo Real Estate along with the help of Alpine Development when they teamed up in 2012. 

    

 The result was The Artisan; a 102,000 square-foot mixed use development that was financed by a $16 million loan. What exactly is The Artisan? Located at 1400 Clinton St & 1440 Grand St, The Artisan includes two separate four story apartment towers, joined by a two story base which houses retail space. Amenities of The Artisan include a lounge, fitness center, private courtyard, private parking, and a business bar for all to enjoy. The apartment began their availability in October 2013 and just five months later, the place was fully booked. 

     Five months! That is pretty crazy, however it portrays the true demand for upscale luxury rental living in Hoboken. In that five months, 59 total units were filled with 1 Bedrooms going for $2,500/month, 2 Bedrooms $3,300/month, and 4 Bedrooms $4,700/month. These prices near the lofty monthly rates of NYC itself, and they were snatched up in no time. 

This project was a huge success, once the news broke of the building being rented to full capacity, a Chicago real estate investment firm opened up the checkbook and bought it. 

     

     How much is this development worth? LeSalle Investment Management spent a hefty $33.5 Million to purchase The Artisan. LeSalle, a company that oversees $47.6 billion of public and private property equity and debt investments, is a leading global real estate investments manager. This is more proof, not that any was needed, that Hoboken is thriving and most likely will continue to develop towards the upscale lifestyle.

Condos Take The Spotlight In Housing Recovery

     Even with the housing Recovery in consideration, over the last few years the condo sector has been far from impressive in both growth in sales as well as growth in development. The blame for this, however, is not to be put solely on the housing crash, but the lack of physical buyers that would be interested in this particular form of housing. Condos are most popular among two groups; people looking to downsize and live in a low-maintenance community (Currently this group is the Baby Boomers), and young professionals who are just entering the housing market. 

     Although almost everyone was affected by the economic collapse, these groups of young professionals and Baby Boomers are most relevant in regards to condo growth and development. Over the past few years, following the housing crash, many young professionals were held back financially, whether that meant trouble finding a job, trouble gaining job security, loss in investments, etc. On the same note the Baby Boomers, who were expecting to retire, also had their future affected by job security, loss of investments, etc. Recently, we are seeing indications that these issues are steadily diminishing.

     Condo sales are moving up quickly, especially within the last year, due to the increased demand by none other than....That's right, you guessed it...the Baby Boomers & Young Professionals. According to preliminary data issued by the National Association of REALTORS®, condo and co-op sales in July 2013 were up 23% from July 2012. Although some regions posted larger gains than others, there was at least a 20% gain recorded in every region year over year. In the nation, the average price for condos and co-ops was $209,600 in July, which marks an approximate 15-16% increase year over year. 

    As with anything, when sales & value go up it sparks demand for an increase in production. The National Association of Home Builders refers to an index that measures builder confidence for the sector and the recent reports show a boom in builder optimism during the second quarter of 2013. The focus for builders seems to be high-rise condo complexes. The growing interest in high-rise construction goes hand-in-hand with a slowly recovering housing market for new residential home construction.