NEW BRUNSWICK—Heavy demand for industrial space and strong appetites for retail properties are two key market characteristics, says José Cruz, senior managing director of HFF, one of the panelists featured at next week's RealShare New Jersey Conference.

“There is significant demand right now for retail. The activity is broad based from value add non-anchored to stable Class A grocery product,” says Cruz, in comments provided exclusively to GlobeSt.com in advance of his appearance at the conference. “Investors have varied pools of capital for most retail today. Finally, industrial investment opportunities are few and far between, driving current pricing to record levels in the state for well-located big box warehouse. Cap rates on this product type have dropped to the 5% range for the best of the best.”

Cruz will join John Adderly, executive vice president - managing director, NAI Mertz; Alex Cohen, CEO of Liberty SBF; Nat Gambuzza; vice president of investments, Marcus & Millichap; and David Simon, executive managing director, Massey Knakal Realty Services, on a panel entitled, “Transactions: Getting the Deals Done,” moderated by Mitchell S. Berkey, Esq., co-chair, Real Estate Development and Land Use Group, Wolff & Samson PC ,scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m. The conference kicks off Thursday, September 11 at 7:45am at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.

“Even in today's improved economic environment, there are still challenges to getting the transactions done,” says Cruz. “Despite the overwhelming capital available from both the debt and equity sides of the business, yields still rule the day and in some cases there is a disparity between seller pricing and buyer requirements.”

Transaction volume in the multi-family sector continues to be a bright spot, says Cruz. “Multifamily remains very attractive to the investment community. Investment sale activity has been as strong during 2014 as it has ever been for both luxury apartment product and older garden communities in Northern New Jersey,” he says. “Major players from other product sectors are still funneling into the multi-housing market, indicating there is still a large amount of capital to be invested in this asset class as these financial players still see significant growth remaining. Office and industrial buyers/developers continue to diversify into multifamily.”

Cruz also sees opportunities in the office sector. “We are beginning to see more activity in the office sector with improving fundamentals,” he says. “Although New Jersey still has high vacancy rates and limited rent growth in the current period, the future holds promise for this asset class.”

More information on the RealShare New Jersey Conference is available at http://www.globest.com/conferences/realshare-new-jersey-2014/.

Instant Insights /

Industrial and Retail Properties Showing Strong Growth in Demand, Says HFF's Cruz

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