TUCSON-Summit Equity Investments Inc. followed up its December closing of the 240-unit Palomino Crossing with an investment in the 364-unit Raintree Apartments. The Southern California buyer paid $9.2 million to seller Thompson Michie Associates of Salt Lake City, UT for its second area closing in less than two months.

As for the seller, "the company had owned the property for close to 20 years, and it was the only property they'd had in Tucson," explains Art Wadlund of the Tucson office of Hendricks-Berkadia. Wadlund, who brokered the transaction, goes on to say that the loan on the property at 6450 E. Golf Links Rd. was maturing, which is why Thompson Michie opted to sell.

"The buyer acquires workforce housing projects, and this fit in with their strategy," Wadlund tells GlobeSt.com. "It was a pretty good price per unit, not a lot of deferred, and a pretty straightforward deal." All that's necessary to spruce up the class B, 1980s, 90%-occupied complex is a little roofwork, Wadlund adds.

Though the deal itself was fairly straightforward, it was interesting in that it took place in a city where there aren't a whole lot of multifamily properties changing hands. Unlike Phoenix, 100 miles to the north, where investors are gobbling just about any quality multifamily property that comes to market, Wadlund indicates that Tucson has been much more low key, mainly because Phoenix has a better employment story than its neighbor to the south.

Furthermore, payoff penalty on existing debt is still rather high, meaning owners would rather hang onto their properties for the time being. "We anticipate seeing the product coming to market in 2015, 2016, 2017, when that debt matures," Wadlund predicts. "It isn't helping us now, but it'll come."