Maser Consulting PA has expanded its offerings with the acquisition of a southern New Jersey firm that specializes in construction inspection and material testing services.
Long overdue
In our July issue, we detail the efforts of New Jersey’s largest brokerage and service firms to support diversity and inclusion among their employees. This is nothing new for industry giants like CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, but it’s become increasingly clear that these efforts are critical to recruitment, retention and overall employee culture. It’s why you’ll find these firms taking pains to promote and cultivate networking groups tied to gender, racial, lifestyle and other forms of diversity. That only stands to grow in our own local market and globally.
Making a market: Developers, city officials look ahead as renters arrive in downtown Newark
A new stock of luxury, market-rate apartments is beginning to take shape in downtown Newark, where stakeholders hope to attract the type of rental population that can create a 24-hour, seven-day neighborhood that has long eluded the central business district.
Developers say they’re encouraged by the early returns, but are preparing for the market to be tested by larger-scale projects and an influx of additional units. City officials are also preparing for what could be a dramatic uptick in interest from builders — which they will have to balance with public policy goals such as expanding affordable housing for Newark residents.
What drives the strong demand from multifamily investors?
At first glance, one might assume that new, luxury apartments are receiving the most interest from investors. While a steady pace of construction can be seen in Northern New Jersey with an average of 5,900 apartments delivered annually, this product is trading infrequently. The majority of investors focused on new construction are institutions that prefer a “build-to-core” strategy over asset acquisition and non-institutional players are unwilling to pay the premium for new development. Thus, the majority of new luxury construction is being held long term.
