Woodbridge, NJ, – At the half-year mark, NAI DiLeo-Bram & Co. (NAIDB) reports Middlesex and Union counties were the most actively traded during H1 2023 within the Northern and Central New Jersey submarkets it tracks. In fact, Union County had the highest volume of retail, office and industrial transactions during this period, with the latter topping off at $270MM.
According to the NAIDB 2023 Summer Capital Markets Snapshot, Union is the only county surpassing its five-year average volume.
“Transactions are still being completed, especially among industrial assets, despite increasing interest rates,” said NAIDB COO David A. Simon, SIOR. “In terms of the office sector, there were three transactions above the $20+M mark during the first half of 2023. Meanwhile, the retail sector remained relatively static and the volume was comparable to 2021. Last year, retail had a boost from a number of larger property trades that, in turn, elevated the overall volume.”
The NAIDB 2023 Summer Capital Markets Snapshot focuses on Northern and Central New Jersey across the seven (7) counties that the firm tracks. These include Morris, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer and Hunterdon. Overall, across this geographic cohort, there were 111 total trades and $1.386B in total sales volume. This marked an increase in the number of transactions, but a decrease in the total volume in comparison to the first half of last year.
In the market report (to view click here), NAIDB details the following for the industrial, office and retail sectors in Central and Northern New Jersey:
- Industrial: This property category continues to trade at record-high prices per square foot. Prices have increased to an average $265/SF, a 34% increase YOY. For industrial buildings over 100K SF specifically, the average price is $220/SF, equating to a 42% increase YOY. Industrial accounts for 60+% of the sales volume across the region associated with an aggregate volume of 45 trades and $860.5M in transactions.
- Office: Taking the second-place slot for transaction volume, office secured 22% of the transaction volume for H1 2023. As compared to YOY, this sector had an increase in the number of trades (33), although there was a drop-off in aggregate value ($306.1MM) and price per square foot ($223).
- Retail: This property sector recorded 16% of the sales volume within the state’s northern and central markets for H1 2023, dropping YOY from $444MM to $220MM. This aligns with volume seen in 2021 and is in part attributed to the fact that last year’s volume was increased by a few larger property trades over $40MM each.
As part of its highly successful 85+ years in the commercial real estate industry, NAIDB maintains a New Jersey-centric focus on specific property sectors across its geographic region of specialization. While concentrating on these markets, the firm’s brokerage professionals provide expertise to a diverse roster of clients, ranging from private businesses to institutional entities. As a result of its effective business strategy, NAIDB is able to pivot based on economic trends, allowing its brokerage team to collaborate internally and meet the needs of its clients in any given cycle.
Based in Woodbridge, N.J., NAIDB is a member of NAI Global, a leading global commercial real estate advisor with over 325+ offices and 5,800 professionals. NAI Global completes in excess of $20B in worldwide commercial real estate transactions annually. Leveraging the powerful support of the NAI Global platform, NAIDB offers a full suite of commercial real estate services backed by the personalized service and knowledge of a local firm with the resources of a global company.