Middlesex County, N.J., – As the midpoint between New York City and Philadelphia, Central New Jersey’s Middlesex County has distinguished itself as a sustained multifamily-investment trading-activity hotbed during the past decade. In the past two months alone, Gebroe-Hammer Associates has arranged $64.9 million in sales involving more than 269 units spanning the East, Southwest and Northwest Middlesex submarkets.
In each of the sales, Gebroe-Hammer’s investment brokers exclusively represented each of the sellers and procured the buyers. Market specialists involved in one or more of the transactions included President Ken Uranowitz; Executive Managing Directors Joseph Brecher and David Oropeza; and Executive Vice Presidents Greg Pine, Niko Nicolaou and Steve Tragash.
The transactions included a mix of new-construction Class A and value-add properties, the latter of which offered significant upside and repositioning potential.
“The three Middlesex County submarkets account for the largest and second- and third-largest of Central Jersey’s nine unique submarkets, in terms of total unit inventory,” said Brecher, who consistently spearheads the region’s most prominent deals. “As a result, this apartment-rich corridor has more than 80,765 units and over 258 buildings. It is one of the most in-demand submarkets in the state and appeals to a highly educated tenant base as well as investors seeking to add the full range of apartment properties to their portfolio.”
From South Plainfield and Woodbridge Township in the north to Princeton Meadows and Monroe Township at the southern tip, Middlesex County has earned the distinction as one of the largest and top-performing commercial real estate markets in the country. It is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies with regional, satellite and headquarters operations as well as three universities, including Rutgers University, and a high concentration of world-class pharmaceutical, healthcare and research facilities.
“It is this diverse economy that places Middlesex County in a favorable position to withstand the impact of the current state of the economy and work/educate from home mandates,” added Brecher. “And when these restrictions are lifted, Middlesex County’s highly talented labor pool can return to commuting via rail, bus, highway or ferry to their high-paying executive and management jobs with relative ease and minimal disruption.”
In addition to Central Jersey, Gebroe-Hammer Associates represents clients whose interests extend throughout the entire state, Eastern Pennsylvania/Greater Philadelphia Metro and New York State. During Q1, the leading nationally ranked multifamily-focused firm closed $316.4M in sales for a total of 1,574 units. The 18 transactions were orchestrated on behalf of private owners, family offices, private equity funds and institutional investors with local, regional, national and global investment interests.
Since 1975, Gebroe-Hammer’s brokerage activities have concentrated on all multifamily types including Class A, B and C high-rise and garden-apartment properties. While initially focusing on New Jersey, the Livingston, NJ-based firm has evolved during the past 45 years to also dominate the northeastern Pennsylvania and New York State submarkets as well as represent client interests nationally. Widely recognized for its consistent sales performance, the firm is a 16-time CoStar Power Broker and is credited with arranging the largest portfolio sale in 2019 for the MidAtlantic Region and in New Jersey.