ORO VALLEY, AZ-HSL Properties Inc., one of the largest multifamily property owners in southern Arizona, has parted with the 240-unit Boulder Canyon at La Reserve for $29.3 million. With the deal done, the buyer, PAWS Development, has jumpstarted a condo conversion of the property.

Tyler Anderson, executive vice president in CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix office, says "the buyer put a bid on the property and bought it before we could even take it to market." He and colleague Sean Cunningham represented the seller while the Denver-based buyer used in-house representation to close the deal for Boulder Canyon at 1500 E. Pusch Wilderness Dr.

"This buyer has been a strong one in the Tucson market," Anderson says. PAWS recently bought Antiqua Village in Tucson, which also is undergoing a conversion into condos.

Boulder Canyon, built in 1995, was 95% occupied at closing. Anderson tells GlobeSt.com that the new owner is investing $17,000 to $20,000 per unit into the conversion, which already has begun. It's not yet been determined when reservations will begin or the prices of the finished units.

The 16-building complex contains 64 one-bedroom units, 725 sf; 112 two-bedroom apartments ranging from 929 sf to 1,057 sf; and 64 three-bedroom designs, each 1,268 sf. Rents go from $605 to $990 per month.

The acquisition holds true to the trend by out-of-state buyers to dominate the sales arena. According to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co.'s last market report, two-thirds of the region's buyers hail from elsewhere, mostly Californians looking to place 1031 exchange funds. The influence of condo converters in the market has been a steady increase in sale prices in the Valley, researchers say. This year's average sales price has reached $52,667 per door. Boulder Canyon reeled in slightly more than $122,000.