WASHINGTON, DC-Mintwood Place Apartments, a 17-unit building located very close to Adams Morgan’s 18th Street Corridor, has gone on the market. While there are probably a record number of properties on the market in the DC area now, this one stands out for its location. Adams Morgan, of course, is an attractive area for young people because of its night life and its apartment buildings rarely tend to go on sale.

Ari Firoozabadi, director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group, is handling the listing. He expects the building to trade for $5.9 million and in the low 5% cap range, he tells GlobeSt.com. That is because, in many ways, leasing trends in this submarket--along with nearby Dupont Circle and Kalorama--are among the best in the area. “We are seeing lease turnover of approximately 25-35% per year as young professionals keep moving in.”

Such a high turnover rate allows even rent controlled property owners to ride the rental market upswing, he says. “Housing demand and for-sale prices are amongst the highest in the District with no new supply delivery because there is limited land supply for development. As a result of limited scalable development, many landlords are achieving 10%-12% gross rent increases as allowed by the rent control statute.”

The rent control statute allows rental rates for occupied units can be increased by CPI+2%, he explains. This year CPI is 2.2% so most owner are increasing rents by 4.2% for occupied units. “If a unit turns over active landlords in Adams Morgan, Dupont and Kalorama are increasing the rental rate by 30% above previous rent charged not to exceed the highest comparable unit in the building. If the highest rental rate in the building turns over, then landlords can increase the rental rate by 10% above previous rent charged.”

All of this translates into good news for Mintwood Place Apartments, which has the added benefit of being a stand alone building on a charming street with an attached garage with the ability to add three units in the basement. “There has been limited transaction velocity in this market, however we just sold another similar size building on Cliffbourne Street a block away at a confidential price,” Firoozabadi says. “Being active in the market allows us to price to sell because we already know the buyer profile.”