LIVINGSTON, NJ — As multi-family investing enters the home stretch of 2018, trading throughout the entire North Jersey Metro is gaining imperceptible speed, according to the brokerage professionals at Gebroe-Hammer Associates. In recent weeks, the firm has arranged 14 transactions encompassing over 130 units sold for more than $18.18M throughout Bergen, East Essex and Union counties. Collectively, these three counties account for a combined in-place inventory of 548 buildings and 113,876 units based on the most recent data from Reis. In the North Jersey Metro, Bergen County’s overall housing stock ranks first in terms of existing apartment buildings (227), while Hudson County ranks as the highest for total in-place apartment units (55,428). “Rents throughout the North Jersey Metro continue their advance, in terms of both asking and effective rents, and are expected to do so through year-end 2020 and beyond,” said Ken Uranowitz, president. “While the metro-wide development cycle finally reaches its peak at the close of this year, a balanced market and leveled off occupancies will be the end result. New construction has and will continue to render class B/C product – long regarded as far more affordable and the ‘fixer-uppers’ – more expensive in terms of property values and rent appreciation rates due to the value-add factor.”