PHILADELPHIA-The market here is one that hasn't displayed peaks and valleys, and that slow-and-steady environment means that few transactions are taking place. But brokerage firm Gebroe-Hammer recently inked a couple multifamily deals, and demand is heating up, notes Joseph Brecher, executive vice president of the firm.

Gebroe closed two deals totaling $10 million that represented 209 apartment units. One, the Oak Lynne Apartments, are in the East Oak Lane section of the city, and the other, Grant Gardens, is located in the northwest Bustletown suburb.

Oak Lynne, made up of two buildings, contains 60 units. Oak Lynne Properties, Inc., sold it to a private investor that wished to remain anonymous. Grant Gardens, a 149-unit building, was sold by a venture called Grant Gardens Co. to one named Grant Gardens LLC.

Brecher says that Philadelphia is starting to benefit from the multifamily rebound in the metro areas of neighboring New York City and Washington, DC. It also doesn't hurt that multifamily is leading all sectors in the commercial real estate rebound.

These two deals follow a transaction, Livingston, NJ-based Gebroe closed late last year, when the 305-unit Marshall Woods changed hands in Morristown, PA for just under $17.3 million.