Gebroe-Hammer Associates
2 West Northfield Road
Livingston, NJ 07039

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Release Date: April 22, 2010

Media Contact: Carin McDonald (201) 796-7788

GEBROE-HAMMER ASSOCIATES NAMED 2009 POWER BROKER FOR TOTAL MULTI-FAMILY SALES TRANSACTIONS IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
Livingston, N.J., Firm Among Top Brokerages in Northeast Region

LIVINGSTON, N.J., April 22, 2010 – Gebroe-Hammer Associates, the region’s dominant commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in the sale of multi-family, retail and commercial properties, has been named a “2009 Power Broker” by CoStar Group, Inc., announced Ken Uranowitz, managing director. The annual award, which has included Gebroe-Hammer seven years in a row, recognizes the total value and number of sales transactions completed in a calendar year as reported to CoStar.

CoStar, as indicated on its web site, does not designate any real estate brokerage firm by rank or specialty, nor does the information-provider award a ranking of “#1 Multi-Family Brokerage Firm in New Jersey.” According to Gebroe-Hammer, and data available to CoStar subscribers, the Livingston-based firm closed more multi-family transactions in 2009 than any other New Jersey based multi-family real estate brokerage firm.

According to CoStar’s statistics and methodologies, Gebroe-Hammer completed a total of 68 transactions in 2009, representing sellers and buyers for more than 3,100 units throughout New Jersey. Key northern New Jersey markets included Newark, Montclair, Jersey City, Union City, Hackensack, Elizabeth, and the Oranges. In the last quarter alone, property sales gained greater momentum with the closing of 15 separate deals orchestrated by the firm’s brokerage professionals. This heightened activity involved a series of prominent mid-to-large-sized property transactions, which exceeded $174.35 million in Q4 2009.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, CoStar is the leading provider of information, marketing and analytic services to the commercial real estate industry. Gebroe-Hammer is among 10 firms recognized with this prestigious unranked designation. The Power Broker Awards acknowledge all top firms in the market, in no particular order as evaluated by CoStar’s internal research team, and how they compare in relationship to their peers.

“It is an honor to be recognized with this elite designation by CoStar, which compiles the most comprehensive market and sales information for the commercial real estate industry nationwide,” said Uranowitz. “Gebroe-Hammer consistently achieves this coveted award, which is a testament to our 35 years of experience in the industry and our unrivaled multi-family market expertise throughout New Jersey’s cities and suburban municipalities.”

Continually setting monthly records in sales, last month, Gebroe-Hammer’s brokerage professionals closed 10 separate transactions totaling more than 590 units throughout Essex, Hudson, Union and Morris counties. Total sales for the first quarter exceeded $64.7 million. Highlights include:

• $19 million trade of a 251-unit apartment complex in Parsippany, N.J.
• Three Bayonne properties, with a total of 67 units, were sold in a one-month timeframe for $4.4 million
• The disposition of 70 units in Jersey City was orchestrated in three deals exceeding $4.92 million
• Within a three-week period, Essex County’s sales velocity ramped up with four deals, involving 185 units, in which Gebroe-Hammer represented the sellers and procured the buyers throughout Irvington, Orange and East Orange
• In Elizabeth, the newest urban hotbed of multi-family sales activity, 21 units sold for almost $1.55 million

“Properties within the 18 to 75-unit range are the backbone of the multi-family investment market right now because these are the only commercial real estate investments that are most attractive to lenders, who are primarily the local savings and loan and community banks,” said Uranowitz. “Traditionally a long-term, stable investment, multi-family properties continue to perform well throughout New Jersey because of the strong rental pool, comprehensive mass transit infrastructure and geographic proximity to employment hubs like New York City in the north, Philadelphia in the south and the Trenton/Princeton/New Brunswick corridor.”

Gebroe-Hammer specializes in the sale of multi-family, retail and commercial properties throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia. Established in 1975 by the well-respected and accomplished Mel Gebroe, chairman, and the late Morris Hammer, Gebroe-Hammer’s long-time clients include private owners, REITs, private equity firms and other institutional investors.

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Gebroe-Hammer Associates
2 West Northfield Road, Suite 301
Livingston, NJ 07039
Phone: 973-994-4500
Fax: 973-994-9752