A Thousand New Yorkers Moved To Hoboken During Pandemic: Report
HOBOKEN, NJ — Thousands of New York City residents may have left the area during the coronavirus pandemic, but more than 3,000 only headed across the Hudson River to Hoboken and Jersey City, a news outlet reported on Saturday. (At the same time, some Hoboken residents have left for greener pastures too).
After the New York Post filed a Federal Freedom of Information act with the post office to get information from change-of-address forms, they published their findings over the weekend. Among New Yorkers who changed their address from March 1 to Oct. 31, a total of 1,204 residents changed to Hoboken, the story says, and 1,821 moved to the 07302 zip code of Jersey City (that city's southern waterfront, where new construction is underway, and historic downtown).
Another 434 moved to the 07310 zip code in Jersey City (which includes the Newport waterfront neighborhood and anything just south of the Hoboken border).
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In terms of rankings, the other popular destinations are a slew of tony communities, including summer vacation spots that may have just been temporary moves.
The top 10 destinations were:
East Hampton, NY followed by Jersey City/07302, Southampton, Hoboken, Sag Harbor, Scarsdale, Water Mill, Greenwich Conn., Yonkers, and Jersey City/07310.
But Hoboken and Jersey City have experienced some losses to the suburbs too. Landlords and real estate agents in Hoboken said over the summer that several hundred units in the mile-square city were available.
On Sunday, Zillow noted 642 rentals, ranging in price from $1,100 for a studio to $14,400 per month for a four-bedroom, four-bath penthouse with 3,460 square feet of space.
A Hoboken landlord said this weekend that he heard numbers over the summer of 800 or more. He emailed several city officials out of concern, asking whether there would be a grace period for paying third quarter property taxes.
He also said that with the Stevens Institute of Technology constructing dorms, that may leave more apartments empty.
"As the owner of a two-family property, I am concerned about the state of the Hoboken rental market for the next few years," said the landlord, who has lived here for 19 years.
A study by RentCafe last year said that rents in Hoboken and Jersey City are among the highest in the state.
Those high rents have concerned groups like the Fair Share Housing Center, who said in June that the high rents had driven gentrification and displacement. They have pushed for more affordable housing.
In any case, people are still discovering the mile-square city. A local real estate blog reported last month that "the pace of sales actually picked up a bit for Hoboken in October" after slowing in September.
Home sales in the northern suburbs have grown during the pandemic. A New York Times story in early September cited quick sales in Maplewood and other North Jersey suburbs with rail lines to Manhattan, saying the demand for housing in counties near New York City is up 44 percent.
Meanwhile, the New York Times theorized in a story on Monday morning that more people would be discovering Hoboken and Jersey City, at least to visit, due to the state's upcoming marijuana legalization.
What do you think? Comment below.
Got Hoboken news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. To be the first to get news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.
This article originally appeared on the Hoboken Patch
