Gebroe-Hammer Associates recently completed six separate transactions, which span three New Jersey counties for more than $26.8 million. One of the properties that sold was Netherwood apartment complex (pictured) in Plainfield, N.J., for $8.1 million.

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

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Release Date: September 11, 2008

GEBROE-HAMMER CLOSES $26.8 MILLION IN MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING SALES IN ESSEX, HUDSON AND UNION COUNTIES
Multi-Family Market Remains Strong for Investors and Renters

LIVINGSTON, N.J., September. 11, 2008 – High concentrations of multi-family housing properties continue to trade throughout New Jersey’s northeastern counties of Essex, Union and Hudson, according to Gebroe-Hammer Associates, which orchestrated six noteworthy deals exceeding $26.8 million. The transactions involved 422 units in Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Rahway, Plainfield and Union City.

“Each of these counties serves as an extension of Manhattan, where New Jersey commuters establish their place of residence to get more space for less rent as compared to across the Hudson River,” noted Ken Uranowitz, the firm’s managing director. “As a result, vacancy rates are low in this tri-county region, and investors are aggressively pursuing multi-family investments in the cities as well as suburbs.”

Key highlights include the $14 million sale of a Newark multi-family portfolio, involving eight buildings and 256 units located on Martin Luther King Blvd, and the $8.1 million sale of Netherwood, a 108-unit complex located at 825 E. Front St. in Plainfield. Brokers who negotiated the transactions include Gebroe-Hammer’s David Oropeza, executive vice president, and David Jarvis, senior vice president, in Newark, and Steven Tenenbaum, assistant vice president, and Joseph Brecher, senior vice president, in Plainfield.

Tenenbaum, along with Avi Oren, vice president, also spearheaded the $1.712 million sale of 132-134 Elm St., a 16-unit property in Rahway, while Oropeza represented the buyer and seller in the $1.05 million sale of 116 Lenox Ave. in East Orange. In addition, the brokerage team of Jarvis and Elliot Schechter, sales associate, closed the $725,000 sale of 37 40th St. in Irvington, a fully occupied 11-unit garden apartment complex.

“Properties such as these, which are in good-to-excellent condition and are fully occupied or have very few vacancies, are in short supply. There is growing demand among investors who value the ability to control the appreciation of their asset, through capital improvements and added amenities,” noted Uranowitz.
Similar conditions prevail in Hudson County, where Gebroe-Hammer recently negotiated the sale of 14 units in Union City, for $1.225 million.

“Multi-family housing product supports the urban employment centers of Essex, Union and Hudson County, and the area is ideal for Manhattan-bound commuters,” added Uranowitz. “For this reason and the fact that this particular asset class continues to be the most stable in an uncertain economic environment, the multi-family housing market will remain strong and vibrant throughout the rest of the year.”

Gebroe-Hammer Associates is the region’s leading real estate investment brokerage firm specializing in the sale of multi-family, retail and commercial properties. In addition to its strong presence in New Jersey, Gebroe-Hammer is active throughout Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, 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