PHOENIX-SunVest Communities LLC has picked up a third multifamily property in the Greater Phoenix metro. The condo converter has paid $39.6 million for the 360-unit Red Rock Villas.

According to Tyler Anderson, executive vice president in Phoenix for CB Richard Ellis Inc., the seller, Sherman Residential of Deerfield, IL never listed the 2000-constructed complex at 5401 E. Van Buren St., but rather, posed it as an un-priced offering. "With this one, we went to about 10 condo converters, brought in the offers and picked one," says Anderson, who teamed with CBRE's Sean Cunningham to represent the seller. He says SunVest got the nod for the purchase because the company presented the most competitive price.

"The property's in fantastic shape. There's very little work that needs to be done on this," says Gary Linhart, managing director of ViaWest Properties LLC, which is managing conversions and marketing on behalf of the Hallandale, FL-based SunVest. Linhart adds the reservation process will begin in first quarter 2006, with units priced at $200 per sf.

Red Rock Villas is 93% occupied. The unit mix is 216 one-bedrooms, with 707 sf to 774 sf; and 144 two-bedrooms of 1,022 sf to 1,093 sf. Rents range from $835 to $1,089 per month.

Linhart tells GlobeSt.com that in addition to the three properties SunVest owns, an additional four are in escrow, which brings the total of units slated for conversion to 2,000 in the metro. The local portfolio includes the 330-unit Joshua Tree Apartments at 11545 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. and 228-unit Mountain Canyon Apartments at 3236 E. Chandler Blvd., both in Phoenix.