BETHESDA, MD—A five-asset multifamily portfolio located in Suitland and Temple Hills, MD, has traded for $88 million. The portfolio, dubbed the DC/MD Beltway portfolio, was put on the market last year by Transwestern's Mid-Atlantic Multifamily Group, led by Dean Sigmon and Robin Williams. Its sale to a private equity group from New York represented the latest nod to the power of value-add apartments in this region, Sigmon tells GlobeSt.com. "I would say there is even more interest in value-add product this year than last," he says.

The group also brokered the off-market transaction of a 400-plus unit community in Forestville, MD. Sigmon and Williams declined to provide additional details other than to say another New York equity buyer picked up this asset.

Finally, Williams tells GlobeSt.com that the group has two other deals pending in Annapolis and Odenton, MD.

The DC/MD Beltway portfolio, however, could be described as the poster child for the value-add trades. The properties in the portfolio included Forest Village and Shadyside Garden in Suitland, and Marlow Heights, Marlow Tower and Marlow Garden in Temple Hills. The seller was a partnership that included Fannie Mae and the Bozzuto Group.

The portfolio had about 1,188 units at an average market rent of $1,113 per month. The marketing materials described the portfolio as having recently undergone a third-party management change. Forest Village and Shadyside Garden are well-positioned for rent growth, while Marlow Heights, Marlow Tower and Marlow Gardens' strengths were their economies of scale from operations due to their close proximity.