BAYONNE, NJ—The battle of America's two coasts is beginning to make some serious waves. For the first time since World War II, the East Coast surpassed the West in container traffic growth, according to a new report, "North American Port Analysis: Preparing for the First Post-Panamax Decade" from Colliers International.

The New Jersey apartment market today bears some resemblance to the Texas oil market, circa 1980: it's all go-go-go. Developers are racing to produce the product—which in this case is multifamily rentals, most of it new construction. Capital is chasing the product, with nearly single-minded zeal. And consumers can't seem to get enough, even as prices escalate to unprecedented heights. (The statewide occupancy rate is over 96% by all accounts, and in the hottest waterfront communities, it is effectively 100%. The average class A rent is $1,973; in Hudson County, the monthly rent for a two-bedroom currently averages more than $2,600.)

Despite the misfiring of the global fiscal engine and the intermittent crashes and booms rumbling across the US economy, there's a discernible purring sound emanating from certain regions. These are places—like Greater Fort Lauderdale and Northern Kentucky and California's San Bernardino County—where economic development strategies have proven to possess enough gas to keep the car on the road.

First-quarter reports on the New Jersey commercial office market were all spiced with unsavory adjectives like "weak," "static" and "slow." But one of the sourest comments concerned plain vanilla.

TRENTON—A legislative proposal to create a New Jersey Foreclosure Relief Corp. that would permit municipalities to buy foreclosed homes and offer them as affordable housing is striking various commercial estate specialists as a creative approach worth serious consideration. "It sounds like it has the potential to help stabilize neighborhoods and also address some of the state's affordable housing goals," says Gualberto (Gil) Medina of Cushman & Wakefield's East Rutherford, NJ office.

LIVINGSTON, NJ-Commercial Mortgage Capital closes on two refinance deals for properties in transition.

SOMERSET, NJ-Panama Canal Widening To Boost NJ Shipping Trade

SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS, NJ-A 79-unit complex near storm-battered beaches and transit routes appeals to investors.