EDISON, NJ—Mack-Cali's announcement inearly October that it is diversifying into the multifamily marketby acquiring Roseland Properties came like the surprise capper thatmight have been suspected all along, if one was paying closeattention to the performance of the multifamily market.

Real estate investment analysts like Gebroe-Hammer's KenUranowitz have been giving the local multifamily marketnoholds-barred rave reviews—"like nothing I've seen in 37 years inthe business!"while damning the office market's tepid recovery withfaint praise for most of the year.

G-H's activity provides merely a snapshot of multifamilyinvestment trends, but it's a striking picture: "We just finishedQ3, closing on 30 multifamily deals, with 1,400 units," Uranowitzsays. He says the Livingstonbased firm handled transactions worthmore than $100 million in the quarter—"beyond record-breaking, intothe realm of stunning." In September alone, G-H traded 724 unitsfor more than $54 million.