The Five Largest Apartment Transactions in 3rd Quarter

More than $37.5 billion changed hands in more than 1,500 transactions in the U.S. apartment market in 3rd quarter, according to Real Capital Analytics. Buying activity was spread out across the U.S., but the in-demand coastal markets certainly got their share, with some of the largest individual transactions.

Here are the five largest individual transactions from July through September:

Liberty Towers

The priciest apartment transaction during 3rd quarter 2019 was the sale of Liberty Towers in the Paulus Hook section of Jersey City. Mack-Cali Realty, a Jersey City REIT, bought the property from New York-based JP Morgan Asset Management at the end of September, paying $409 million, or roughly $631,000 per door. JP Morgan bought Liberty Towers in 2011 for $280 million. The development sits on 1.8 acres at 33 Hudson Street, just a block from the Hudson River and includes 646 units in two, 37-story towers. The project was completed in 2003 and renovated in 2015. Liberty Towers features a business center, conference room, fitness center, boxing gym, yoga studio, a spin studio, golf simulator, swimming pool, game parlor, rooftop pool, children’s playroom, barbecue area and an on-site concierge. The property also includes ground-floor retail that features a pharmacy, a florist and a nail salon.

Blu Harbor by Windsor

Three of the nation’s most notable transactions in 3rd quarter took place in California markets. The most expensive was the five-story, 402-unit Blu Harbor by Windsor apartment development in Redwood City, CA. Boston-based GID bought this property in July for $325.6 million or $810,000 per door. That was one of the highest prices ever paid for an apartment complex in Silicon Valley. The property is located near the San Francisco Bay at 1 Blu Harbor Boulevard, within San Francisco’s South San Mateo County submarket and adjacent to the 3,000-acre Bair Island Wildlife Refuge. A joint venture between Pauls Corporation of Denver and Fortress of New York built the community in 2017. Amenities include a clubhouse, sports lounge, saltwater pool with sundeck and cabanas, heated outdoor spa, fitness center, spin studio, outdoor yoga and meditation deck, playground, bike storage, dog-washing station, and complimentary bike rentals, sea kayaks and paddleboards. The property also features a marina with 64, 35-foot wide concrete berths.

The Avant at Pembroke Pines

One Fort Lauderdale property snuck onto the top transaction list in 3rd quarter. A joint venture between New York business development firm Prospect Capital and Philadelphia-based GoldOller Real Estate Investments sold The Avant at Pembroke Pines in August to Nexpoint Residential Trust, a Dallas-based REIT. The two-story, 1,520-unit community sold for $322 million, or roughly $212,000 per unit, after last traded hands in 2013 for a total of $225 million. The property, which was built in 1986, is on Pembroke Road in Pembroke Pines. Amenities include an all-sports court, fitness center, poolside grill and picnic areas, clubhouse with kitchen area, cybercafé with coffee bar, three swimming pools, sand volleyball court, splash pool, tennis court and two playgrounds. Nexpoint is planning to renovate the community.

The Village Residences

The Village Residences (formerly known as Carmel The Village), a five-story, 330-unit apartment community in the San Jose market on San Antonio Road in Mountain View, traded hands in September for $292 million. New York-based Brookfield Property Partners paid $885,000 per unit for the three-building complex. The seller was a joint venture between San Francisco-based Carmel Partners and Merlone Geier Partners, which completed construction on the development in 2013. The apartment complex includes 43,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space occupied by restaurants and a nail salon. The apartments are part of a larger 21-acre mixed-used development, Village at San Antonio Center, that includes an Icon theater, a Hyatt Centric hotel and a WeWork office space occupied by Facebook.

Sofia Los Angeles

The Carlyle Group paid $272.5 million, or $450,000 per door, for the Sofia Los Angeles apartment community in September. The seven-story, 606-unit development is located on West 6th Street in the Westlake neighborhood, within the Downtown Los Angeles submarket. The property was developed by a joint venture between Seattle-based Holland Partners and Japan-based Sekisui House (NASH). The complex opened in August 2017 and had been on the market since June 2018. Amenities include a swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, yoga studio, game lounge, karaoke room, speakeasy, viewing deck, BBQ grills and fire pits and two rooftop gardens. The development also features 28,000 square feet of retail space including a Grocery Outlet, Starbucks and a Chipotle.