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

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Release Date: Monday, May 5, 2009

GEBROE-HAMMER ASSOCIATES ORCHESTRATES $2.95 MILLION TRADE OF OLIVER PLAZA APARTMENTS IN NEWARK,
N.J. Transaction Highlights Demand for Small-to-Mid-Sized Existing Multi-Family Housing Properties

NEWARK, N.J., June 15, 2009 – Gebroe-Hammer Associates, one of the region’s leading investment brokerage firms, has announced the $2.95 million trade of Oliver Plaza Apartments, a 58-unit mid-rise complex in the Weequahic Park neighborhood of Newark, N.J. Gebroe-Hammer’s David Jarvis, executive vice president, represented the seller, Elizabeth Avenue Associates Corp., and procured the buyer, 469 Associates, LLC.

Located in Newark’s southernmost neighborhood at 469 Elizabeth Ave., the five-story brick-façade building features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The property also offers immediate access to a wide range of bus, rail and highway routes, including Newark Penn Station, New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Route 78.

According to Jarvis, the city’s leading multi-family housing broker, the buyer plans to renovate the kitchens, bathrooms and common areas throughout the entire building. “This property’s rents were significantly below the area’s market rates,” he said. “The buyer recognized the potential to add greater value to the asset through capital improvements and the addition of some new amenities.”

Gebroe-Hammer reports area occupancy rates to be 98 percent. Oliver Plaza was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale.

“New Jersey’s urban hubs such as Newark and smaller-to-mid-sized existing properties like Oliver Plaza are attracting the interest of multi-family housing investors, who favor this asset class,” said Ken Uranowitz, managing director of Gebroe-Hammer. “In the current economic environment, these types of multi-family acquisitions are considered low-risk by lenders due to the consistent, steady cash flow associated with a rental building. Buyers recognize the ability to enhance the property’s overall performance over time by bringing the rents to at-market rates.”

Gebroe-Hammer also recently closed six separate multi-family housing transactions totaling $6.4 million throughout the Northeast. The 102 units were sold in key urban and suburban markets on behalf of undisclosed buyers and sellers in Philadelphia and North Jersey’s Essex, Union and Hudson counties.

The largest trade was the $1.425 million sale of Loretta Arms Apartments, located at 1901-13 Faunce St. in northeast Philadelphia. Centrally located within the Rhawnhurst neighborhood, the two-and-a-half-story 30-unit complex is comprised of a mix of studio and one-bedroom units.

In the City of Orange, in Essex County, N.J., the firm closed the $1.175 million sale of 245 Reynolds Terr. The 17-unit complex features 11 two-bedroom and 6 one-bedroom layouts located in close proximity to the Garden State Parkway and Route 280. The one-building property was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. Additional recent sales also include the $600,000 sale of 1300 Fulton St. in Rahway, located in Union County, and the sale of 47 total units in Hudson County’s Union City for a combined $3.2 million.

Gebroe-Hammer Associates is the region’s leading real estate investment brokerage firm specializing in the sale of multi-family, retail and commercial properties. The firm maintains an active presence throughout Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia; New Jersey; and New York. 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