Livingston, NJ — Multifamily revenue-stream clarity and reinforced pricing have fed a reported $917+M in apartment-property transactions for Gebroe-Hammer Associates as of midyear – marking a 100% increase in sales over the same period last year. In total, the nationally ranked multifamily-focused investment brokerage firm has arranged 54 deals involving 6,052 units during the first two quarters of 2021.
“As expected, multifamily investment volume and demand has more than just ‘picked up,’ it has skyrocketed thanks to positive performance metrics, the proverbial light at the end of the pandemic tunnel getting brighter, strong gains in effective rents and a continued low-interest rate environment, which should extend well into the foreseeable future,” said firm president Ken Uranowitz, who has experienced every recessionary period since joining Gebroe-Hammer Associates at its inception 46 years ago.
“While a number of notable economists projected a 25% to 33% increase in multifamily sales over last year, Gebroe-Hammer’s market specialists have shattered this benchmark and are reporting a robust pipeline of exclusive and rare-to-market listings that will extend this streak through year end,” he said.
From January through June, Gebroe-Hammer’s market specialists have been active across the entire state of New Jersey, long considered a haven for former Manhattanites priced out of New York City’s gentrified boroughs. Sales spanned North, Central and South Jersey as well as the Greater Philadelphia Region.
According to Uranowitz, the multifamily recovery continues to accelerate in a positive direction. He attributes this to vaccine rollouts, a lack of single-family home supply and affordability and a long-term, very accommodative Fed monetary policy. As is typically the case, certain markets nationwide have fared better than others, most notably the NJ Metro.
“Considered an edge-city market, the Garden State offers plenty of big-city urban-living options in the form of suburban transit-village settings,” said executive managing director David Oropeza.