The four buildings are at 825 Post St., 1008 Larkin St., 750O'Farrell St. and 72 Gough St. Pugh says that the portfolio hasalready drawn broad interest from prospective buyers, includingmany institutional investors, thanks to the prime location of thebuildings near Downtown San Francisco and the favorable pricing intoday's market.

Pugh says that another reason the portfolio is drawing investorinterest is that it will enable a buyer to establish "an immediateand substantial ownership presence" or add to existing holdings inthe San Francisco apartment market, which has some of the highestbarriers to entry in the country. Such opportunities in SanFrancisco are rare, Pugh points out. He and Bonn have specializedin multifamily sales in the city for more than 20 years, he says,and, "There have only been two other times that we are aware ofthat a portfolio with this many units has been offered to themarket in the city."

Pugh adds that the portfolio hold the potential for future rentgrowth because of below-market rents as a result of San Francisco'srent control ordinance, which allows units to be marked to marketwhen they are vacated. Pugh also notes that, at an asking price ofjust under $140,000 per unit, the portfolio is priced well belowreplacement cost, which is now more than $300,000 per unit formultifamily development in San Francisco.