EDISON, NJ—Mack-Cali's announcement in early October that it is diversifying into the multifamily market by acquiring Roseland Properties came like the surprise capper that might have been suspected all along, if one was paying close attention to the performance of the multifamily market.

Real estate investment analysts like Gebroe-Hammer's Ken Uranowitz have been giving the local multifamily market noholds-barred rave reviews—"like nothing I've seen in 37 years in the business!"while damning the office market's tepid recovery with faint praise for most of the year.

G-H's activity provides merely a snapshot of multifamily investment trends, but it's a striking picture: "We just finished Q3, closing on 30 multifamily deals, with 1,400 units," Uranowitz says. He says the Livingstonbased firm handled transactions worth more than $100 million in the quarter—"beyond record-breaking, into the realm of stunning." In September alone, G-H traded 724 units for more than $54 million.