New Jersey is known for having some of the very best urban opportunities in the  world—among the best colleges and schools, museums and libraries, as well as some of  the finest parks, the most interesting architecture, the most intriguing mix of  diverse people, and among the very best collection of historic sites in the  nation. For residents, seeing that view on a daily basis does not come cheap.  

 Residential space in New Jersey is costly especially in urban areas like Hoboken  or along the New Jersey Gold Coast or the Jersey Shore, and these days space,  more than luxuries, has been the most sought after item in an apartment. Still,  location is king, and New Jerseyans have gotten used to living in what others  would think of as cramped quarters, while generally not enjoying some of the  extras of community living that their apartment-dwelling suburban friends take  for granted.  

 Those days are gone. While location is still an essential aspect of a property’s attractiveness to a potential buyer, it is no longer the only major  consideration. For several newer and established properties around town, a  building’s amenities are becoming a drawing point in and of themselves.  

 Among the most luxurious co-op/condo amenities now provided to residents include  simulated golf courses, private beaches, 24-hour juice bars, wine cellars,  grocery delivery coolers, in-house dog grooming services, yoga studios,  media/screening rooms, video arcades for kids, craft rooms, and bowling alleys.  Some of these items are becoming passé, while others now are unwritten requirements of a building’s amenities package. But more often these days, that amenities package amounts  mostly to the facilities provided in a building, such as a gym, sauna, swimming  pool, and a massage room. In those areas, it seems that buyers believe bigger  may well be better.  

 Luxury Redefined

 Some of the most luxurious special amenities that New Jersey condo properties  are offering today include hundreds of thousands of square feet of space  dedicated to resort-style recreational offerings. Residents of the Watermark on  Hudson at 8100 River Road in North Bergen can measure the speed and trajectory  of their golf game inside a specially designed, climate controlled, golf  simulator room. When the city is in the grips of a snowstorm during the winter,  residents at the 12-story, 206-unit, luxury condominium can head to an indoor  pool, do a few laps, soak in a hot tub or catch a flick in the in-house  screening room without leaving the comfort of the building. No PATH train rides  are required. There’s also a billiard and card room, guest suites for out-of-town visitors, a coffee  bar, and health club with cardio and resistance training zones.  

 “The Watermark on Hudson is setting the standard for luxury amenities in New  Jersey,” says Joshua M. Baris of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Fort Lee. “This condominium attracts a lot of professional athletes. There are a few Jets,  Yankees, Nets and Knicks, so the fitness center is extreme so is the golf  simulator room. The Watermark attracts a very high-end clientele who want to be  treated like royalty. It’s also located on the New Jersey Gold Coast, a spread of towns along the Hudson  River, which is where a big chunk of luxury condominiums are located in New  Jersey.”  

 What is considered a “top” amenity has changed over time, and even in recent years. Some items that used  to be considered essential amenities for high-end condos, such as media rooms,  or wine cellars, now are passé. Some of that change is technology-driven, virtual doormen and virtual  concierges are slowing becoming the norm, and big screen TVs are affordable and  everywhere—and some of the change is a recognition that a building’s amenities should appeal to a wider group of residents rather than a small  percentage.  

 While Watermark on Hudson may offer a substantial chunk of space dedicated to  amenities, it is just a part of a growing trend among newer residential  properties that are offering a host of new amenities to suit the tastes of  their residents.  

 In downtown Jersey City, a one-time working class neighborhood teeming with  immigrants, you’ll find the luxury condominium—the Beacon, that features a grotto lounge, state-of-the-art-fitness center,  billiard room, great room, poker room and a two-acre park with a dog run. Its  promotional material touts it as “resort living in the city.” The former hospital turned luxury condo with eight buildings and two million  square feet, also boasts a 24-hour juice bar, numerous tiki bars throughout the  property and a movie theater that serves up fresh popcorn.  

 Like any building in this upper demographic, the Mercury at the Beacon, features  a 24-hour doorman/concierge, an indoor and outdoor pool, a landscaped courtyard  and a parking garage with direct elevator access. The neighborhood is slowly  transforming itself and luring young professionals from Manhattan and Brooklyn.  

 “The neighborhood is up and coming, but it doesn’t matter, once you get inside you are transported,” says Baris. “It’s like an oasis. You feel like you are in another time.”  

 You’ll find a fenced-in private beach at the Grand at Diamond Beach on Atlantic  Avenue in Cape May County. The property also features a beachfront infinity  tub, oceanfront spa tub, separate children’s pool, poolside locker rooms, poolside grills and a beachfront promenade.  

 Creating more of a cohesive sense of community in a building is one goal of the  amenities package buildings now offer residents. The Grand is the 2012 winner  of the Best in American Living Award from the National Association of Home  Builders (NAHB).  

 “The Grand is an oceanfront building with resort-style amenities,” says Shelley Van Dyke, a sales representative at the Grand at Diamond Beach. “There are beach attendants and beach amenities. Another plus for us is that we’re conveniently located near other popular shore points—Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May and Atlantic City.”  

 These days, luxury condo owners are often assuming that certain amenities will  be part of any purchase in a residential building. Those amenities include a  24-hour doorman and a full-time concierge service, to handle duties such as  getting packages, ordering theater tickets, making travel arrangements for  residents, arranging dog walking help, or other tasks.  

 Luxury property buyers also expect certain amenities such as a gym and a pool.  These facilities used to be extras but are becoming common.  

 Evolving Demographics

 Changing city lifestyle factors are driving certain types of amenities, such as  features intended to be all-inclusive for families, which are a growing segment  of the market.  

 Due to the substantial increase in recent years of families living in city  residential buildings, certain offerings are becoming more prevalent, and  common needs are being recognized. While in the past a building having a gym  used to be a basic amenity, children’s playrooms have become almost standard now, says Jacky Teplitzky, managing  director of Prudential Douglas Elliman, in New York.  

 Generally, though, the trend of many residential properties in the city is to  offer more practical amenities, such as storage for bikes, suitcases and the  like, as well as the requisite concierge service, Teplitzky says. “They are back to the basics, with amenities including a full-time doorman, a  gym, a children’s playroom, storage, a garage and a roof deck,” she says.  

 Industry insiders say the market for high-end co-ops and condos (valued at $5  million or more) set a fast pace in March and April, appearing to lead to  inevitable price increases. A large percentage of the housing demand is being  driven by foreign buyers. For some brokers, a large percentage of their buyers  of high-end residences in the city are coming from overseas, including from  places such as the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Columbia,  India, China, Russia and increasingly, Brazil.  

 “A lot of these luxury condo buyers in New Jersey are professional athletes,” says Baris. “But believe it or not we get a lot of Indian royalty and some very wealthy  Russians.”  

 Most of these foreign buyers are using a New Jersey address as a second  home/investment, since they believe in the integrity of the United States real  estate market. For many of these buyers, amenities aren’t as important as for families that will be living in a building year-round. But  both groups of buyers are eying similar types of properties—those with three or four bedrooms. They also are considering the location of a  property when they are mulling it.  

 “The bulk of the buyers at the Grand at Diamond Beach are people looking for a  second home or investors who rent out properties,” says Van Dyke. “But we’re finding that most of our current owners want a second home at the shore, a  vacation home they can drive to versus boarding a plane and flying to a  vacation destination.”  

 Amenities for residential buildings throughout New Jersey have evolved quickly  over the past several years. Ten years ago, the rooftop deck or lounge was the  cool amenity, then gyms became the next thing, but they were small at first.  Five years ago, the residential building gyms started to become much bigger.  

 Amenities change as buyer’s tastes change. Today, buyers are more value-conscious than ever, and they want  to get the most for their money.    

 Jonathan Barnes is a freelance writer and regular contributor to The New Jersey  Cooperator. Staff Writer Christy Smith-Sloman contributed to this article.