475 Avenel St. in the Avenel section of Woodbridge — Courtesy: Gebroe-Hammer Associates
By Joshua Burd
Gebroe-Hammer Associates is touting the completion of nearly $460 million in multifamily sales year to date, thanks in part to its ongoing activity during the height of the coronavirus crisis.
The Livingston-based firm said it brokered 33 transactions throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York State and elsewhere during the first two quarters. That total comprises 3,009 apartments and a combined value of $458.8 million.
“We swiftly adjusted our sails in February, followed by additional modifications in March, April, May and even June, to support our market specialists and their response to never-before-encountered situations during COVID-19’s most severe period,” Ken Uranowitz, Gebroe-Hammer’s president, said in a prepared statement. “These benchmarks speak to our company’s ability to go into the unknown with eyes wide open and draw on the vast experiences of our team — a majority of whom average over 20 years with our company — in order to address new scenarios. These unprecedented times called for creativity and tenacity — and Gebroe-Hammer is delivering.”
In a news release, Gebroe-Hammer said its activity reflects a strong first quarter and an agile approach to finalizing deals in Q2, when the COVID-19 outbreak fueled statewide lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders. In addition to shifting to virtual meetings and phone calls, the firm’s brokers took steps such as holding one-on-one socially distant meetings outdoors, an idea that it says took hold long before the warmer weather set in.
From April through June, Gebroe-Hammer’s market specialists arranged north and central New Jersey sales totaling 290 units for a combined $57.5 million in value, according to a news release. The deals included the $25.6 million sale of Hamilton House in Weehawken and the $21.3 million trade of a 72-unit portfolio in Woodbridge.
The firm also recorded sales of 1,075 total units for a combined $61.1 million in Philadelphia and South Jersey.
“The benefit of being in business for the past 45 years and persisting through many cyclical shockwaves gives us a unique advantage in our capabilities and experience in closing deals — even in this unprecedented and challenging period we are currently going through,” Uranowitz said. “As businesses and the industry gradually reopen, Gebroe-Hammer Associates is already anticipating next-phase property owner and investor needs and shifting our business practices accordingly to market properties and continue closing deals.”
