PATH, ferry, light rail: how the commute sets the price in Hudson County

Every buyer asks why the price changes so much from one block to the next in Hudson County. The answer is almost always the same: the minutes to the train. Here is how each way into Manhattan shapes the market, and where that leaves room.

The PATH

The PATH is the spine of Hudson County. Exchange Place and Newport put you at the World Trade Center in minutes; Grove Street and Journal Square are a few minutes more; Hoboken Terminal runs to both Midtown and Downtown. Prices track the walk to those stations closely. A ten-minute walk to Grove Street and a twenty-minute walk to Grove Street are, in the market's eyes, different neighborhoods.

The ferry

NY Waterway runs from Paulus Hook, Harborside, Hoboken and Weehawken to Wall Street, Brookfield Place and West 39th Street. The ferry is the most pleasant commute in the region and the most expensive, and the buildings near the slips are priced for people who value the ride. If your office is in Midtown West, a Weehawken or Hoboken address near the ferry can beat any PATH commute.

The light rail

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is the one people from out of state overlook. It runs from Bayonne up through the Jersey City waterfront, Hoboken and the towns along the river to North Bergen, connecting to the PATH and the ferries. The Heights has an elevator down the cliff to a light-rail station; Bergen-Lafayette and Bayonne have stops that make the west side of the county workable for a Manhattan job. Light-rail blocks are still priced below PATH blocks for the same walk time, and that gap is where a lot of my clients buy.

The bus, the tunnel, the car

Union City, West New York and North Bergen run on buses to the Port Authority, frequent and cheap, and the Lincoln Tunnel for drivers. Journal Square and the Heights sit close to the Holland Tunnel approaches. If you drive, or your office is not in Manhattan at all, the PATH premium is money you do not need to spend.

What I tell people

Work out your real door-to-desk time, not the station's name. Then look one stop further, or one elevator ride further, than you first planned. The market prices the station; it under-prices the walk.