Jim Ferris of the Marcus & Millichap National Multi Housing Group in Newport Beach tells GlobeSt.com that Walnut Creek-based Sequoia Equities and San Rafael-based Rutherford Investments purchased the three-year-old complex from a joint venture between Connecticut-based CIGNA/TimesSquare and San Diego-based Fairfield Residential.

"We had 15 quality offers within 10 days of putting this on the market," says Ferris, who teamed with Stan Jones of the Marcus & Millichap National Multi Housing Group in Palo Alto to represent both buyer and seller. The number of offers for the property indicates the strong demand for high-quality, institutional-class apartment investments in the county, Ferris points out. He says Aliso Viejo is an especially appealing market to investors because the barriers to entry are so high--currently no development sites are zoned for apartments and there are other barriers such as homeowner association fees that are levied on apartment property owners in the planned community. Also, he adds, the price was well below replacement cost.

The Alicante was 92% occupied. The sale closed at just under a 6% cap rate, with today's "extremely attractive financing" helping to make it appealing to the buyers, Ferris says.

The Alicante consists of 10 three-story, wood-frame and stucco buildings. Its 428 units include 200 one-bedrooms, 60 one-bedrooms with den; 152 two-bedroom, two-bath units; and 16 two-bedroom, one-bath apartments. The units average 913 sf and rent for an average of $1,400 per month.