HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO-The apartment REIT United Dominion Realty Trust has sold an eight-property, 2,310-unit portfolio to Westdale Asset Management of Dallas for $181 million. The sale completes UDRT's exit from both markets.

The transaction included 884 units in two properties in the Denver area and 1,426 in six properties in the Atlanta area. The portfolio is 96.8% occupied with average monthly rent of $743 per home. The in-place cap rate on the investment is in the 5% range, according to industry sources.

The Denver properties are Greensview, built in 1987 and 2002, and Reflections at Cherry Creek, built in 2002. The Atlanta properties, all built in the 1980s, are Stanford Village; Griffin Crossing; Gwinnett Square; Dunwoody Pointe; Riverwood; and Waterford Place.

UDRT says the Atlanta sale demonstrates the value creation of the company's kitchen and bath renovation program. Thirty-five percent of the Atlanta homes were upgraded over the past two years at a cost of $4.4 million, or an average of $8,765 per unit. The renovated units realized an average incremental monthly rent 13.7% higher than non-renovated homes. UDRT estimates that the kitchen and bath program produced $10.8 million of additional sales proceeds, or $6.4 million of value creation.

Along with the portfolio sale to Westdale, UDRT announced the sale of Mill Creek at Windermere in San Ramon, CA, for $100 million. The buyer was Essex Property Trust. For that story, click here.

UDRT's executive offices are in Highlands Ranch and the rest of its administration is in Richmond, VA. The company says the dispositions are in line with the company's strategy of "exiting markets where long-term growth prospects are limited and redeploying capital into markets we believe will provide the best investment returns."