Jersey City heights - Best area to buy home

[babo111]

Originally Posted by geniusmagic

How does the prop tax reval affect prices ? Are they likely to go up based on the sale price of the house ?

Prop tax reval affects prices and already has/is. Taxes will very likely to go up. Amount depending on where and it could be a sticker shock. Esp downtown places that shot up in last few years.

Reason is because JC kept prop tax low artificially for years and it was intentional by the mayor. Some will say to drive development, to please constituents, to draw in buyers with $$$, etc. Anyhow mayor has delayed prop eval long as possible and now he is aiming for governorship so he isn't really fighting it anymore. Plus court decided for him as well.

I'm not a pro so don't rely on what I say and take it with grain of salt. Best to talk to your agent (and do your homework to dive deeper to know it first hand.

Ballpark prop tax of JC RE property should be 2-2.5% of value exceptions are places with tax breaks. So if you buy 500k place, prop tax should be around 10-12.5k. So factor that possibility into your monthly payment.

What this will typically mean at very broad level are...

• Overall very slightly murky buy/sell situation.
• Buyers aren't sure what they're exactly getting into and they want lower price. Price is lower anyway because market softened plus rental price is going to stagnate and either dip or pause. Plus there's still 10k rental units coming onto market just on JC alone...less squeeze on rental price, more choices in rental, less pressure to buy something.
• Sellers think they're getting slightly raw deal because they won't get asking price esp if they couldn't unload it a year or two ago. Primarily because if seller wasn't on top of their sh*t, they would not have known there was a court battle and JC lost in April.

All you need to know is that there is prop eval going on and required to be complete by Nov 2017? (recalling off top of my head) so talk to professionals and do your homework (updated budget, alternative options, etc.)


Good luck.

[SonorityGenius]

Western slope is definitely for families and very safe; in fact #27 school is rated above all elementary schools consistently (and #28 is 2nd) in JC.

Closer to light rail Congress st and Cambridge - a lot single, college students packed in many apts. Somewhat mixed poverty line hispanics - watch trulia robbery/burglary map crime zone.. Some areas of cambridge ave has newer homes built by indians and is up and coming but still crime is higher than I would tolerate.

Coming up a bit in heights around Beacon ave, Jefferson ave, Laidlaw, St Pauls and Central ave, Summit ave, palisade are all middle class families and very close to JSQ PATH - very walkable and transit friendly areas.

[JERSEY MAN]

I said it many times, the western slope area is/was the lowest crime area in JC Heights for years.

[geniusmagic]

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

I said it many times, the western slope area is/was the lowest crime area in JC Heights for years.

I agree Western Slope has less crime. However, it seems the eastern end of Heights has the advantage of being closer to Hoboken and easier access to Light rail offers better connectivity with Jersey City.
From an investment perspective - it might be better to invest in this area with more upcoming potential although higher crime is a concern.