In a rare showing, the North Texas town of Longview accounted for two sales: the 192-unit Hunters Crossing at 2801 Bill Owens Parkway and 310-unit Pine Knoll at 2019 Toler Rd. There were different buyers, different sellers, but closings in the same week.

Hunters Crossing, built in 1977, is a 98%-occupied asset that was voted "best apartment complex in East Texas" for two consecutive years. Aspen Square Management of West Springfield, MA sold the 14-acre property to Peek-Howe Real Estate of Louisiana, which assumed a $4-million loan for its first East Texas acquisition, the Ostroff-Balthrope duo tells GlobeSt.com.

"The bidding was fierce," says Ostroff. "We had full price offers in two weeks." Full price was $5.2 million for a property without deferred maintenance.

Pine Knoll was sold by Evans Commercial of Dallas to Lumacorp, also of Dallas. The 94%-leased complex, built in 1984, brought close to its $10.25-million asking price due in part to 16 bidders and 22-acre tract. It too was "in pristine condition," says Ostroff. Evans Commercial, Balthrope confides, will be doing a 1031 Exchange on its proceeds from the class B sale.

Aspen Square Management also sold the Houston property, the 144-unit Wellington Place, built in 1984 on nine acres at 10803 Greencreek in the northwest submarket. And that, says Balthrope, is the team's bellwether deal for the Houston market. "If it was a dollar bill, we'd tape it to the cash register," he says of the third closing in a week in the phase-out of their Grubb & Ellis obligation.

Aspen sold the class B asset to a California-based private investment group, led by Ryder Stilwell of Los Angeles. The asking price was $5.87 million, delivering at least 15 offers to the seller. Balthrope credits the hyped interest to Houston's torrid buying temperature, particularly multifamily product. The 95%-occupied complex traded close to the full asking price, he confided.

Soon to come will be the sale of the Colony on the Green, a Fort Worth property taken back by its lender in May 2001. The complex was fully rehabbed and placed on the market. The "best and final" was Friday.

To date this year, Ostroff and Balthrope hawked 1,200 units out of 5,800 listed. Another 3,400 units are under contract and 1,200 apartments are being marketed. All are class Bs built in the late 1970s and 1980s.