Investments in U.S. apartments rebounded in 2024, with 5,700 properties changing hands across the country for a total value of $146 billion, according to data from MSCI Real Capital Analytics. This represented an increase of 22% year-over-year but was below record-setting sales, averaging $332 billion per year in 2021 and 2022 when about 25,000 properties changed hands.
The average price per unit was $211,474 last year, up 3.8% year-over-year. That is one of the lowest levels since 2020 but is above per-unit pricing from 2015 to 2019, which averaged $151,000, according to RealPage. Apartment transaction cap rates were up 24 basis points for the year to an average of 5.57%. That is the highest cap rate in eight years, although apartment cap rates remain the lowest among major property types.
Notably, five apartment communities changed hands last year for roughly $250 million or more, according to the report. All of these transactions were on the East Coast and West Coast.
Recommended For You
The largest single-asset transaction was the sale of 20 Exchange Place in Manhattan’s Financial District to The Dermot Company and Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM. The seller was a partnership led by New York City developer DTH Capital. The 57-story building with 767 units sold for $370 million, or $482,400 per unit, in July. DTH purchased the building in 2004 for $155 million and converted the property into apartments. The new owners plan to upgrade the building’s amenities and unit finishes.
The second-largest transaction was the November sale of Parkside Esterra Park in Seattle to Lakevision Capital for $286 million. The price per unit for the 664-unit project was $434,000. It is part of a 28-acre mixed-use master-planned community near Microsoft’s headquarters.
The sale of The Aire high-rise apartment building in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in February for $265 million was the third-largest transaction of the year. New York-based developer Gotham Organization and Washington, D.C.-based private-equity firm Carlyle Group purchased the 310-unit building for roughly $854,800 per unit from New York-based A&R Kalimian Realty.
At $252.4 million, the sale of Hillsdale Garden apartments in San Francisco in October ranked as the fourth-largest deal of the year. The property on more than 30 acres traded for about $362,100 per door. The new owners plan to convert the garden-style community into affordable housing for households earning at or below 80% of the area's median income.
Ranking as the fifth-largest apartment transaction in the nation during 2024 was the sale of The Royce Park Place in Anaheim for $247.5 million, or $476,000 per door. Newport Beach-based Sares Regis Group sold the 520-unit community to MetLife in December.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
