22 Route 10 in Roxbury — Courtesy: Resource Realty of Northern New Jersey
By Joshua Burd
Three key asset classes have fueled leasing and sales activity for Resource Realty of Northern New Jersey, helping it complete more than 40 transactions during the first half of 2024.
The brokerage firm, which is based in Parsippany, said its deal volume at midyear totaled more than 866,000 square feet at properties across several New Jersey counties and New York State. Much of that demand has come from a diverse user and investor pool such as institutional entities, private equity, family offices and high net-worth individuals, Resource Realty said, as well as locally and regionally based private distribution companies, materials and goods manufacturers, lifestyle service providers and health and wellness entities such as physician practices and affiliated hospital services groups.
The firm also cited the relative stability and a level of economic resiliency that carried over into the first half of 2024, in addition to its membership in the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors global network.
“Investor and user demand are driving optimism for industrial, retail and medical office properties located within northern New Jersey,” Principal Greg Sabato said. “Strong employment and consumer spending are what drive real estate investment strategies and given the current climate, will continue to drive flex-light industrial, neighborhood retail and medical office building commercial real estate investing for the foreseeable future.”
RRNNJ’s first-half activity included 28 deals in Essex and Morris counties and another nine in Bergen and Passaic, according to a news release. Among them were three retail building sales in northwestern Essex, the trade of a fully leased medical office property along Route 10 in Roxbury and the acquisition of a two-story office building in southern Passaic County.
The firm also brokered leases for 3,588 square feet of office space in Somerset County and 3,350 square feet of retail space in Middlesex County, as well as 82,000 square feet in industrial commitments within the emerging Lehigh Valley and western New Jersey logistics corridor.
“During the past 18 to 24 months, rising interest rates have set the stage for users to compete against institutional investors in acquiring properties for self-occupancy and as a means to control their own costs,” said Principal and Founder Tom Consiglio, an industry veteran of more than 30 years. “When there is an interest rate reversal, these owner-users will be able to refinance at a lower rate while continuing to maintain their in-place operations in a cost-effective, efficient manner.”
RRNNJ is also seeing similar trends in southern New York State, the firm said, pointing to deals in Orange and Rockland counties. They include the recent lease-up of a newly built Hudson Valley warehouse and logistics property near two of the region’s busiest interstates and one hour from New York City and northern New Jersey — two of the most important markets along the Northeast Corridor.
“Post-pandemic, this once agriculturally focused region has undergone an influx of industrial development that is transforming the area into a center of commerce for large distribution centers for tenants like Tesla, Amazon and Medline,” said Consiglio, who noted within one particular corridor in Orange County alone there are now more than 10 new warehouses and distribution centers, with several developments being proposed. “This is a market on the rise, with investors, developers and users enthusiastically seeking existing and ground-up opportunities.”
