Jersey City, NJ—Multifamily properties in Jersey City have appreciated about seven percent in the past 12 months thanks to increasing gentrification, rapid development away from the waterfront, and tenants fleeing high costs on the New York side, says Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
“Jersey City is right behind Brooklyn in terms of gentrification and its impact on the tenant demographic and accelerating property values and asking rents,” says Nicholas Nicolaou, senior vice president and the firm's Hudson County market specialist. “The market and its existing multi-family housing stock have proven they can withstand virtually anything the economy or housing market might throw at it.”
Existing apartment buildings are ripe for repositioning, says Nicolaou, who recently arranged a four-building portfolio sale involving a total of 64 units throughout Jersey City. He exclusively represented the seller and procured the buyer of 74-76 Fairview Ave., 100 Duncan Ave., 485-487 Martin Luther King Dr. and 222 Jewett Ave. The total sale price was $7.56 million.
“The buyer was attracted to this portfolio because of the unit mix of one to three bedrooms as well as how close the buildings are to one another and major thoroughfares, which make them highly walkable and tenant friendly,” says Nicolaou.
Earlier this month, Nicolaou and Eli Herskowitz, sales associate, also closed the $3.15 million sale of another 31 units located in the Heights area, predominantly comprised of two- and three-family residential homes and multi-family properties, many of which boast Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
Located at 516-529 Central Ave., the five-story building features 27 apartment units and 4 ground-floor commercial units. Bordered to the east by Palisade and Ogden avenues, the neighborhood offers scenic views of the Manhattan skyline. Central Avenue is a three-quarter mile long main street with more than 240 storefront businesses serving the Heights and neighboring communities.
“Gentrification has extended inland to Jersey City Heights due to two factors – its affordability and range of transportation options,” says Nicolaou. The light rail elevator at Congress Street connects to the 9th Street/Congress Street Station along the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Midtown Manhattan is minutes away via bus, train and ferry service.
Nicolaou also orchestrated the $1.55 million, two-building sale of 37-39 Bleecker St., and 37 Paterson St., comprised of 11 units and 4 units/4 garages, respectively.
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Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
