UNION COUNTY, NJ — The Kislak Company, Inc. announced the recent sale of four multifamily properties and one retail center in Union County with a total of 68 residential units and 15,000 s/f of retail space. The separate transactions include the:-$2.85 million sale of The Hamlet Luxury Townhomes in Cranford; -$2.45 million sale of a 24-unit garden apartment complex on Westfield Ave. in Roselle Park; -$1.75 million sale of a 15-unit property with garages on Johnson Place in Union Township; -$1.65 million sale of a 19-unit mid-rise apartment building with parking on Sayre St. in Elizabeth; and -$1.45 million sale of University Circle Shopping Center, a 15,000 s/f multi-tenant retail property on St. Georges Ave. in Linden. Vice president Jeffrey Squires was instrumental in each transaction. He obtained a listing for Kislak to market and sell each property and also represented the purchasers in four of the five sales – the Cranford, Roselle Park, Elizabeth and Linden properties. Sales associate Andrew Scheinerman represented the purchaser of the Union Township property.“The Union County market is representative of the greater northern New Jersey market for investment sales,” said Robert Holland, president. “Investors are in search of well-located and well-performing properties in strong submarkets. Jeff did an excellent job bringing these properties to market and selling them.”
The Hamlet consists of 10 rented luxury townhomes in an upscale residential neighborhood. The duplex two-bedroom townhomes each feature two and one-half bathrooms, garages, kitchens with granite counters and stainless appliances, and rents approaching $2,300 per month. The property was sold to an all-cash purchaser. “This was a rare opportunity for an investor to acquire immaculate brand-new construction in an affluent community with train access to New York City,” said Squires.
According to the municipal tax records, $285,000 per unit is the highest price ever paid in Cranford for the sale of a multifamily property. The per unit price demonstrates today’s demand for premium well-located real estate.
Squires, who previously sold the Roselle Park, Union, and Elizabeth properties, mentioned, “each property recently traded for the second time in less than four years at over a 20% price increase from their respective sale prices just a few years ago.” “These owners decided to capitalize on today’s high prices and cash out,” Squires added. “We are seeing some of our clients that were buyers a few years ago become sellers in today’s premium priced market. Our clients work hard to manage their multifamily properties and it’s rewarding to see their investments pay off in such a short time.”University Circle Shopping Center is a fully-leased 15,000 s/f retail property with long term ownership. It was also sold on an all-cash basis. The property is located at the corner of St. Georges Ave. and North Stiles St., one of the business intersection in the area. “Many investors are seeking retail properties today due to favorable cap rates compared to multifamily properties,” added Squires. “Sellers are able to take advantage of a surge in investment demand and sell their retail properties at a higher price per square foot than in years past.”Squires joined Kislak in 2007 and specializes in the sale of multifamily and other investment properties throughout New Jersey. He was the recipient of the company’s 2012 Sima Kislak Jelin Salesperson of the Year Award, and has the distinction of handling the single largest sale of a multifamily property in New Jersey in terms of price since 2011 with the sale of Rachel Gardens, a 764-unit apartment complex in Montville that sold for $136 million in July, 2014.