Page 6 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Fall 2021

6 COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY
—FALL 2021
NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM
Industry Pulse
Events
We’re
Back,
Baby!
Cooperator
Events Expo Returns to NJ this Fall!
www.nj-expo.com
CooperatorEvents is thrilled to announce
the return of our in-person Expos! This fall,
the CooperatorEvents New Jersey Expo will
take place at the Meadowlands in Secaucus
on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, from 10:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We have an exciting line-
up of exhibitors eager to interact in person,
covering every aspect of multifamily living,
from board governance, financial planning,
and community engagement to roof repair,
energy management, and lawncare. Like our
past in-person Expos, the CooperatorEvents
New Jersey Expo 2021 will include a full day
of free workshops, seminars, networking,
and more. And as always, registration and
attendance are FREE to all! Visit www.nj-
expo.com to see who’s exhibiting, get more
information, and register as an exhibitor or
an attendee. This will be a must-attend event
for all condo, co-op, and HOA board mem-
bers, property managers, residents, and real
estate professionals in the Garden State! We
look forward to seeing you there in person!
CAI-NJ Goes Back to the Beach
The New Jersey Chapter of the Community
Associations Institute (CAI-NJ) is holding its
annual beach party on Friday, September 17,
2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Martell’s
Tiki Bar, 308-310 Boardwalk in Point Pleasant.
The CAI-NJ website says that this is their larg-
est networking event of the year, where indus-
try professionals can get together “with great
food and drinks right on the beach.”
Visit www.cainj.org/beach-party to register
as an attendee or a sponsor, and to see pho-
tos from the last beach party. Contact Jaclyn
Oskierko, CAI-NJ Director of Conference &
Events, for more information at jaclyn@cainj.
org or 609-588-0030.
Law & Legislation
COVID
Immunity
for
Real
Estate
Developments Becomes Law
After the New Jersey Senate and General
Assembly both unanimously passed biparti-
san legislation that would bar lawsuits over the
spread of COVID-19 at real estate develop-
ments through the end of the year, as report-
ed by law360.com, Gov. Phil Murphy signed
the bill into law. Starting July 1, 2021, owners
and operators of planned real estate develop-
ments such as condos, co-ops, and HOAs will
be immune from litigation stemming from a
COVID-related claim, excluding “acts or omis-
sions constituting a crime, actual fraud, actual
malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or willful
misconduct.”
The law requires residential communities
to post signs at entrances of pools, gyms, and
other communal spaces that read, “Any person
entering the premises waives all civil liability
against the planned real estate development for
damages arising from, or related to, an expo-
sure to, or transmission of, COVID-19 on the
premises, except for acts or omissions con-
stituting a crime, actual fraud, actual malice,
gross negligence, recklessness, or willful mis-
conduct.”
The legislation also specifies that the immu-
nity section “shall [not] be construed to limit or
modify any claim for relief under the [state’s]
workers’ compensation law,” and that the bill
“shall expire on the first day of calendar year
2022,” according to law360.com.
Supporters of the measure believe that its
passage will alleviate the concerns held by many
community associations and cooperatives that
opening or easing restrictions on amenities
and common areas would subject them to legal
action for which there is no insurance coverage.
“This is a win for those homeowners asso-
ciations that chose to keep communal areas
closed in 2020 due to liability concerns relat-
ing to COVID-19,” says Assemblyman Brian
Bergen, R-Morris, a sponsor of the Assembly
version of the bill, in a statement following the
Assembly’s June vote.
“My bill will allow them to open those areas
at their discretion while protecting them from
lawsuits should any residents or guests be
exposed to or come down with the disease,”
he continues. “Condominium and townhome
residents can get back into their shared pools
and gyms.”
Trends
Homebuyers Gravitate Toward Condos in
Pandemic Shift
Mortgage Professional America (MPA)
reports that a national trend toward condos
is taking shape among homebuyers who have
been priced out of the single-family market.
The outlet cites a second consecutive month
of highest rises in price in the condominium
sector as an indication that buyers have been
hard pressed to find single-family homes that
meet their budget—or that aren’t lost in bid-
ding wars.
MPA states that June 2021 saw the biggest
rise in the price of condos since 2012, with the
national median sale price of condos reaching
$304,000. This all-time high is 20.3% above
June 2020 prices—but MPA notes that single-
family homes rose 26.8% in the same period.
May and June were also the only months
since 2012 that condos were selling above ask-
ing price across the country, notes the outlet.
Ed Lanzoni, a loan officer with First World
Mortgage, has also seen “a much higher
demand” in condos, adding, “Most condo-
miniums seem to be selling for about $5,000-
$15,000 over asking price, depending on a few
factors such as location, homeowners associa-
tion financials, and size.”
MPA also reports that on a seasonally
adjusted level, a total of 72,058 condos were
sold in June, marking a 59.7% rise compared
to the same period a year ago, and with fewer
condos available for sale (18% down from
June 2020). While low sales numbers during
Q2 2020 are largely attributed to pandemic
lockdown, making it a skewed period for year-
over-year comparisons, MPA still points out
that this June’s sales are happening at a much
quicker pace than even June 2019, pre-pan-
demic. Condos are selling in a record 22 days
this year as opposed to 36 days in June 2019.
The shift is also seen as evidence that those
Americans who had vacated their city condos
during the height of the pandemic were now
returning to the workplace in more densely
populated areas, says MPA.
New Jersey-based broker Daniel Casasnovas
tells MPA that with low interest rates and low
inventory, people are “paying substantial prices
for small apartments” in New York now. The
pandemic trend of selling a condo in the city
and moving to a larger and arguably more
affordable home in places like New Jersey
might be leveling off, he says, due to inventory
“starting to go back up slowly but surely.”
Other reasons cited for the trend toward
condos was rising rental prices and the conve-
nience of condo living.
Property Management
FirstService
Residential
NJ
Awarded
Three Management Contracts
In a press release, FirstService Residential
announces its recent contracts to provide full-
service property management services to three
high-rise buildings in Northern New Jersey.
The North American property management
company’s newest editions to its New Jersey
portfolio are World Plaza and The Frontenac,
both located in Hackensack, and Woodcliff
Gardens, a former client, in North Bergen.
World Plaza is a 13-story condo complex
with 242 units in two buildings featuring an
outdoor pool, attractive lobby, and fitness
center, says the release. The Frontenac is an
11-story building with 76 units featuring a ded-
icated NYC bus stop and on-site garage park-
ing, a 24-hour doorman, enclosed terraces, and
attractive landscaping. The condo was formerly
self-managed since its inception.
“When we decided to go from self-managed
to managed,” says Ingrid Smikle, board presi-
dent of The Frontenac, “we interviewed ten
management companies. We looked at who the
people were that we’d be working with every
day. We needed true professionals who would
help guide us through the day-to-day. Our
manager receives full support from FirstService
Residential’s incredible depth of resources.”
Woodcliff Gardens is a 400-unit, garden-
style co-op community comprising five build-
ings, according to the release. It features a
pool, clubhouse, and fitness center for its resi-
PULSE
continued on page 19
YOU’LL LEARN SO MUCH
YOUR HEAD COULD EXPLODE.
(Our lawyers said we had to warn you.)
THE COOPERATOR
EXPO
2021
WHERE BUILDINGS MEET SERVICES
MEADOWLANDS EXPO CENTER, SECAUCUS — TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 10–4
FREE REGISTRATION: NJ-EXPO.COM