More and More People are Moving to Hudson County

Hudson County – and particularly Hoboken – have seen plenty of people moving in. According to data collected and interpreted by Otteau Valuation Group, from the start of 2021 to mid-September, purchase contracts in Hudson County increased by 35% from the same period of time in 2020. Making this news all the more dramatic is how the increase in purchase contracts country wide stood at merely 1% -- indicating a massive difference in volume of sales in Hudson County from the rest of the country. (NYC-Area Residents Are Buying Up Homes in Hoboken - Bloomberg)

Among the most sought-after locations in Hudson County was Hoboken. This remains as a remarkable revelation, since, during the pandemic’s heights in 2020, people were leaving Hoboken in bulk.

According to Coldwell Banker Realty agent Jill Biggs, people just wanted to leave that area in 2020. Biggs specializes in real estate along the three-mile stretch bordering the Hudson River. As the pandemic escalated, it became clear people did not want to remain in the close-knit communities in that area. “My phone rang and rang and rang, and it was all people who wanted to sell. Everyone was fleeing. Every single person that was trapped with their kid in a two-bedroom decided this is not going to work.” (NYC-Area Residents Are Buying Up Homes in Hoboken - Bloomberg)

So why are many people moving back? For some, it’s due to their commutes. Many people who worked in the city could manage to put more distance between themselves and their jobs when they needed to work from home. However, for many, now that offices are opening back up, the commute is simply too long to justify their current living spaces. Other people simply realized they did not like suburban life and wanted to return to a city environment.

Whatever the reason, the numbers do not lie. Not only are ex-Hobokenites returning to their old neighborhoods, but a whole new group of people are moving to Hoboken. Among the big movers are people from New York, seeking more affordable housing in the city. Many people who can’t keep up with the escalating bidding wars over Brooklyn brownstones are coming to Hoboken to buy property at more reasonable price. And often, their ingenuity is rewarded by more space.

Take, for example, newlywed couple Clay Kohut and Paola Bernal. The two spent 2020 in a one-room New York apartment. After shopping around the city and New Jersey, they successfully placed an $850K bid on a Jersey City condo, still under construction. They moved into their new home with extra bedrooms and enough yard space for their Australian Shepard to stride around and play. According to Paola, “We essentially jumped across the river and we got two extra bedrooms.” (NYC-Area Residents Are Buying Up Homes in Hoboken - Bloomberg)

Hudson County continues to draw in attention from potential home owners. However, Hoboken and the rest of Hudson County ranks among the most densely populated regions of the United States. Hoboken, alongside its neighbors West New York, Union City, and Guttenberg, rank among the most densely populated cities in the United States, fluctuating in their exact position among the top three from year to year. (Decennial Census by Decades)

In order to allow new people to move into the area, we need to construct new real estate for them. Multi-family buildings can accommodate multiple families in the same property space, thus allowing more people to live in a limited set of square miles. This is especially beneficial if a lot of people want to live in an increasingly tightening space.

The Station, 4901 Bergenline Ave, WNY, NJ

Thankfully, NRIA is developing all along New Jersey’s Hudson County area. In West New York, NRIA has three separate apartment buildings in development – The Station, The Grand, and The Metro. The Station has finished vertical construction, while The Grand broke ground this past summer. In Hoboken itself, NRIA has the Hoboken Mews and Madison Views in pre-development. Once we have acquired the appropriate permits, we can begin construction on these multi-family condominium buildings.

NRIA is doing our part to create real estate that the eager crowd moving into Hoboken can embrace and enjoy. There remains a shortage of available real estate for new buyers. NRIA is addressing this by satisfying demand in supply constrained locations.

If you’d like to learn more about NRIA’s current investment strategies in the changing market, click here to download our newest eBook, How To Profit from the Housing Demand Tsunami.