The Newark, NJ-headquartered Prudential Real Estate Investors, in a normal turnover of a 10-year hold, got close to the $29-million ask from the Los Angeles-based Intergroup Corp. for the 358-unit Villas at Beaver Creek at 1000 Meadow Creek Dr. in Las Colinas. Dallas' FirstWorthing got $18.5 million from JMG Realty Inc. of Atlanta for the 264-unit Franciscan at Bear Creek at 1600 Village Dr. in Euless. The Villas sold at a cap rate nudging 7.2% and the Franciscan, 7.8%.

Jeffrey L. Price, principal of the Apartment Group, closed the Franciscan sale on a Thursday and tucked away the Villas the next day. "People think brokers make a deal a day and that's not true," he says. "They just seem to come together at the same time. I don't care when they come just that they happen."

Price says the Franciscan had one contract fall out so a remarketing to a select 50 resulted in JMG competing against a dozen others for a three-year-old project that FirstWorthing built with the intent to sell. The other sale, closing in a 45-day start to finish, attracted 20 offers, with Intergroup perched at the top. Both buyers tell GlobeSt.com that the upside lies in burning off concessions.

The 88%-leased Franciscan, with 14 two- and three-story buildings, is offering eight weeks free on a one-year lease. The concession burn-off, location and the complex's quality were key decision-makers for the buy side, says Laurie Johnson, JMG Realty's acquisitions head. Just five months ago, JMG paid $28.5 million for a neighboring property, the Seramont Apartments. Johnson says management replacement is first on the agenda for the Franciscan.

Johnson says the rent will make "modest" jumps. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging from 696 sf to 1,309 sf, were renting for $870 to $1,580 per month. JMG's per-unit monthly ask runs from $765 to $1,385.

JMG, a cash buyer, is focused on acquiring class A assets in Dallas. Johnson says she's looking at two AMLI properties in North Dallas, but hasn't placed a contract. Another two properties, she says, will most likely end the North Texas buying. The firm also is chasing high-end product in the Carolinas, Southern Florida and its homeport.

David Gonzalez, vice president of real estate for Intergroup, says change is definitely in store for the 93%-leased Villas, situated in the Las Colinas submarket where giveaways run deep to keep the high-priced units filled. He says the first move was to eliminate the free rent, often as much as three months on a one-year lease. Intergroup also terminated a "few contracts" that Gonzalez believes were embedded with perks that strained expenses. Other changes, including a sprucing up, will come in the next quarter. He says the corporate philosophy "to make a tenant feel like a guest of honor in their home" will offset concession losses and increase occupancy.

The acquisition represents a shift in Intergroup's strategy, a known class B buyer marking its first trade-up in Texas with the purchase. "We are changing our approach because we feel there is opportunity in the class A market in Dallas/Fort Worth," he says, adding the only other class A complex in the portfolio sits in California.

Built in 1993 by Irving's JPI, the Villas at Beaver Creek is a Trammell Crow Residential community that delivers a view of the canal or courtyard from every unit. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units range from 631 sf to 1,392 sf with monthly rents running from $745 to $1,380.

The brokerage line-up had Price and William T. Simmons, an Apartment Group senior vice president, representing Prudential for the Villas sale and Price and the firm's Henry C. Glasgow, also a senior vice president, working the Franciscan transaction. JMG principals Lenny Blevins and Carleton Jackson negotiated its terms while Intergroup had Meridian Investments of Houston working its side.