IRVINE, CA—Steadfast Apartment REIT will implement a “value-enhancement strategy at each community to create a more-valuable living experience for our renters' hard-earned dollars,” president Ella Neyland tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, the REIT has acquired four apartment communities (1,072 units) in two separate transactions for an aggregate purchase price of $157 million. We spoke exclusively with Neyland about the purchase and the REIT's strategy for apartment investment.
GlobeSt.com: What stands out for you the most regarding this transaction?
Neyland: The four communities are excellent additions to our portfolio and boast occupancies that exceed local averages. Despite the properties' strong operating fundamentals, Steadfast will still implement a value enhancement strategy at each community to create a more valuable living experience for our renters' hard-earned dollars.
GlobeSt.com: What is your acquisition strategy for apartments in the current market?
Neyland: Our strategy is simple: we invest where America lives. And right now, Americans are flocking to secondary markets that exhibit strong job growth, where the cost of doing business is more affordable for companies looking to relocate or expand.
GlobeSt.com: What qualities do you look for in the apartments you acquire?
Neyland:Our goal is to offer a better living option for the average American by providing them with a high-end apartment home they can afford. We accomplish this by targeting quality class-B communities that require moderate enhancements to bring it up to par with surrounding class-A communities, without the hefty rent. It is this approach that makes Steadfast's strategy unique.
GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this transaction?
Neyland: We are very pleased with the ability to enter Missouri with Carrington Park, and expand our footprint in Texas with the addition of Meadows at North Richland Hills, the Delano at North Richland Hills and Kensington by the Vineyard. By leveraging our more than 20 years' of operating experience and resources, we are able to create a new standard of living at our communities.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
