8-15-14

6B — August 15 - 28, 2014 — New Jersey — M id A tlantic

Real Estate Journal

www.marejournal.com

C entral N ew J ersey By Alessandro Conte, The Blau & Berg Company The ripple effect of global events on our economy

M any e c onomi s t s projected that we would be well out of

new construction pipeline is projecting over five million of additional s/f. One sector that economists cannot gauge is international turmoil, such as the events we are facing in the Middle East, as well as the issues between Russia and Ukraine. Information is traded at a much quicker pace, much like a ripple effect; speeding up the time it takes for a global event to affect our markets, economy and real estate val- ues. Even though these events may not be linked directly to real estate, due to our global

economy, an adverse event can negatively affect our markets. Imports and exports have taken a ride on a roller coaster recently. Imports dropped in June by the most it has in a year, but the U.S. economy moves closer to energy inde- pendence. This move towards “going green” is helping the trade deficit shrink 7% to $41.5 billon which is the small- est since January, from May’s $44.7 billion, as shown by the Commerce Department’s figures. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are unleashing record volumes

of light oil from U.S. shale formations, helping raise do- mestic crude production to the highest level in more than a quarter-century; this has brought the U.S. closer to energy independence than it has been in 29 years. Although there has been a drop in purchases of foreign goods from the highest levels on record in more than three years, including declines in auto, cellular phones, and the lowest petroleum imports, exports on the other hand, are the strongest on record, al- though not much has changed

in the last month. We will see little growth overseas as Europe’s economy struggles to pick up and geopolitical tensions mount. Italy has fallen back into a recession in the second quarter and Ger- man factory orders dropped in June by the most since 2011. China’s growth accelerated for the first time in three quarters after the government ramped up spending and freed up more money for loans to counter a property slump. The world’s economy rests squarely on the shoulders of its leaders and the deci- sions they make. Hopefully those decisions will help suc- cumb turmoil and civil unrest with prosperity and economic growth. These global actions can undoubtedly affect us in the near future. Alessandro (Alex) Conte, CCIM is the senior director at The Blau & Berg Com- pany in Short Hills, NJ. n Onyx Equities completes three new leases totaling 66,000 s/f WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Onyx Equities, LLC an- nounced that it has recently completed three new signifi- cant long-term leases totaling 66,000 s/f at Onyx-owned and managed properties located throughout New Jersey. The completed transactions in- clude a 39,200 s/f lease with Sony Music; a 17,457 s/f lease with Artech Technologies; and a 9,500 s/f lease with PNC Wealth Management. Among the recent leases is Sony Music, which has taken one-and-a-half floors at Onyx’s 301 Rte 17 North in Ruther- ford. Dan DePalma of JLL represented Sony in the trans- action. Artech Technologies is relo- cating its corporate headquar- ters to Onyx’s Mount Kemble Corporate Center at 360 Mt. Kemble Ave. in Morris Twp. Savills Studley managing di- rector Chris Marx represent- ed Artech in the transaction. PNC Wealth Management is relocating to a larger space at Onyx’s historic Sealfons building, located at 257 E. Ridgewood Ave. in Ridgewood. Dan Simpson , a managing di- rector with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank , represented the tenant in the transaction. n

the recession by this time. It looks as though they were read- ing a script, because they were spot on. North Jersey i n d u s t r i a l

Alex Conte

lease and sale rates per s/f are back beyond pre-recession levels. Vacancy rates have decreased to 8% as of the sec- ond quarter of 2014, and the

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