Equity Hits Last Stretch of 12-Property Sale

HOUSTON-After investing nine months into a 12-property disposition, Equity Residential Trust is gearing up to hand over its last 650 units of the 3,319-unit portfolio. The other class A units, which went to three buyers, traded for $83,000 to $120,000 per door.

According to Craig LaFollette, executive vice president in Houston for CB Richard Ellis, the 362-unit Kirby Place at 7500 Kirby Dr. and 288-unit Rincon Apartments at 777 Dunlavy St. are scheduled to close in September. One complex will be sold to a local buyer while an out-of-state company will take possession of the other. LaFollette and CBRE colleagues Todd Stewart, Todd Marix and Tre Banks were marketing the portfolio for the Chicago-based seller of record, ERP Operating LP.

LaFollette tells GlobeSt.com that the marketing and sales processes went well overall. "There was a lot of interest in the portfolio as a portfolio and one-offs. And, the entire process, for the most part, went very, very smoothly," he says.

The majority of the 12-property portfolio was sold before May. In late June and early July, Preferred Communities LP of Houston bought the 263-unit Providence at Kirby at 7550 Kirby Dr. and 318-unit Stone Oak at 14220 Park Row. In both cases, the new owner had to assume loans.

On average, the portfolio's assets were 10 years old with 95% occupancies. The earlier deals put Harbor Group International LLC of Norfolk, VA, in charge of the 518-unit Town Center Apartments at 2727 Bens Branch Dr. in Kingwood. The rest of the portfolio went to El Paso-based TVO Realty Partners, which acquired the 171-unit Parc Royale Apartments at 2727 Elmside Dr., 216-unit Farham Park at 2777 Woodland Park, 384-unit Gramercy Park at 3225 Woodland Park, 162-unit La Tour Fontaine at 2400 Fountainview Dr., 171-unit Park Place at 15200 Park Row, 220-unit Ranchstone at 10901 Ranchstone Dr. and 188-unit Richmond Town Homes at 10777 Richmond Ave.