Jersey City’s Trump Plaza Exceeds 50% Sales Mark

Trump Plaza

By Eugene Gilligan, Contributing Editor

Jersey City, N.J.–The 55-story Trump Plaza Residences in Jersey, City, N.J. has crossed the 50 percent threshold in units sold, with one of the key drivers to sales volume being the property’s Federal Housing Administration’s loan compliant status.

The majority of prospective buyers at Trump Plaza Residences are first-time homebuyers seeking homes in the $450,000 to $600,000 price range, therefore qualifying for FHA financing, according to The Trump Organization. FHA mortgage terms for New Jersey, differentiating from county to county, allow for loans up to $729,000.

FHA financing is very attractive to first-time buyers, Jodi Stasse, director of marketing and sales at Trump Plaza Residences, tells MHN, as it enables buyers to put down as little as 3.5 percent, compared to 10 to 20 percent for a conventional mortgage. Many buyers are attracted to the flexibility of the FHA program, as it also allows buyers to pay a down payment percentage that is comfortable for them, for example, 5 or 10 percent. The mortgages are also assumable, which means that if the seller’s mortgage rate is lower than the current rate, the buyer may assume the mortgage, an attractive option if the buyer stays in the property for five or six years, and interest rates move higher, Stasse says. Other attractive features of FHA loans are no income limits, and buyers are not disqualified if they have less-than-perfect credit histories.

“It’s a big part of our marketing effort,” Stasse says about the FHA program, noting that The Trump Organization usually has to educate buyers about the details of FHA financing.

On exceeding the 50 percent threshold in sales, Stasse says that figure “is in line with market velocity.” One- and two-bedroom units at Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City range in size up to 1,450 square feet, with prices for the one bedrooms starting in the mid-$400,000s, and two bedrooms starting in the mid $600,000s. Three-bedroom units and penthouses are also available.

Stasse says she sees the condominium market moving forward, but at a deliberate pace. “It’s going to be slow and steady. There are definitely buyers out there, who see where real estate is positioned, see how low interest rates are and who want to take advantage of that.”