Location location location.

Prewar vs. new construction = personal preference. I think prewar is the way to go because I like them, I think they are better built, and there are fewer of them. The more original details (moldings), the better.

For me, location is most important because, lets face it, the market is cooling off. I dont think it will totally tank, but its not as hot as before.

Prewar uptown, like upper Hudson or upper Bloomfield St. = I dont think will ever go down in value
New construction uptown, nice block like Hudson (Maxwell) = nice, but its a personal preference. It will attract people who don't like home repair and have some disposable income
Prewar in midtown, Bloomfield = eh, ok
New construction in midtown = eh, ok. Good if you have a car, for the garage issues.
New construction over a RAILWAY line or in other "non-neighborhoody" areas = I would not buy. Sorry, folks, you could not pay me enough money to live in 700 Grove or Zephyr. Since I'm not a model train enthusiast, I really don't see the pluses of those buildings. Cr*p location + new construction = I'm not your buyer

From a buyer's persepective, anything brokered by Corcoran is overpriced. I loved them when I was a seller, though. Check out RE blogs like brownstoner.com and curbed.com -- the Corcodevil pumps prices up.

You couldn't pay me to live in the mold-infested dumps you call "brownstones" but are more aptly called "rowhouses" to reflect their depressive look and feel.
All that mold is cancer-causing you know - one reason I will never live in a rowhouse.

Seriously, I'm not the original poster, and I still think Zephyr is just not exciting, no matter what links you post (to the penthouse/model apt., I might add). For one thing, 18 foot ceilings are interesting, and yes less cookie cutter than lower ones, but have fun with the air conditioning and heating bills. The whole modern look is just ovedone nowadays to me.

It sounds like the original poster has already made up his/her mind and wants the prewar, but is hesitant (maybe because of all the new construction in town and new construction pumpers?)

Go with what you love. You're the one that has to live there.

"but have fun with the air conditioning and heating bills."

I believe all cooling/heating is not paid by the individual owners, and is covered by the maintenance.

Brownstone is a specific material, like marble or brick. A brownstone house is made of this material. What we have in Hoboken are rowhouses. City hall uses a lot of brownstone around the entrance and the windows.

There may be a few brownstone houses in Hoboken, but I'm not aware of any.

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have you been on Hudson street? Perhaps Bloomfield or Garden north of 10th? Washington between 8th and 9th? 11th between Wash. and Garden? Many other sporadic ones sprinkled about... guess you are not very observant...

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You just show yourself to be more and more clueless.
First off, this whole discussion has been about cookie cutter units - and zephyr units certainly aren't that. You might not like them or not find them "exciting", but that doesn't change the fact they aren't cookie cutter..
Secondly, heating and ac is actually included in the maint in zephyr. The utilities come out astonishingly low - like averageing 50/month for a 900sq.ft. loft space. This I have had confirmed to me by sellers.
Thirdly, regarding "The whole modern look is just overdone nowadays to me." Uh, really. The modern look is finally catching on in the US after being staple in UK, AUS, Japan for a while. So what do you prefer if not modern?

I agree, a brownstone in the Boston area is of much higher quality than those we see in Hoboken, which was traditionally a working-class kind of place. We are talking about rowhouses.