PHOENIX-A Boston-based investment entity has just acquired its first multifamily property, the 102-unit Prairie Point Apartments, for $5.3 million in an off-market transaction.The class B property, at 11640 N. 51st Ave., will be converted into condominiums by the buyer, Sterling Holdings IV. All of the units are two bedrooms and average 930 sf."The buyer's background is in conversions on the East Coast, and they're trying to get their feet wet with property here," explains Rue Bax, senior advisor with Sperry Van Ness' Phoenix office, who represented the buyer in the transaction. "This property had it all for him; it was all two-bedroom, two-bath, had the right price point and a great location. He really liked it for conversion."Bax tells GlobeSt.com that a budget and timeline have not yet been determined for the property, though Sterling did pay more than $1.3 million to defease the loan from the seller, Southern California-based DCRE AZ Investment I, LLC, to prepare the property for conversion.The seller was represented by Danny Lee and Neil Sherman of Sperry Van Ness' Phoenix office.In the meantime, the buyer continues to seek out additional local properties for conversion, and Bax notes that he is preparing to close on a multifamily property in central Phoenix during early 2006. "For him, it's predicated on location," Bax adds. "B and C quality types of properties, mainly two bedrooms, are in the niche he's looking for.