Islander Village Apartments at 5525 S. Alameda St. came on line in October so its occupancy is just now at 60%. The 78 apartments are four-bedroom, four-bath floor plans, with $450 per bed rents. The buyer is Austin-based Campus Advantage Inc.
"The unique thing about this deal is it wasn't stabilized on closing and the buyer was willing to buy it as is," Jeff Patterson, vice president with Apartment Realty Advisors in Austin, tells GlobeSt.com. "This was a little late to deliver to the market and it'll take some time for the students to know it's there." ARA's transactions manager Kelly Witherspoon partnered with Patterson to sell the development for Austin-based Hammond Jones Real Estate Development.
Patterson says Campus Advantage ended up with the property because of its strong track record, financial backing and experience in student housing. "They understood the asset before it went under contract," he says. "The seller was confident they'd close the deal."
Islander Village Apartments was part of a 270-unit, 1,078-bed portfolio, all new and close to Texas universities. Patterson says a contract is in hand for two complexes in Huntsville--Village of Sam Houston at 102 Varsity Dr. and Montgomery Village at 2456 Montgomery Rd. Both are 48-unit, 192-bed designs. Still up for grabs is the 96-unit, 382-bed Village at Lamar at 5230 Martin Luther King Pkwy. in Beaumont. It is being marketed for $12.9 million.
Patterson says that, while the assets were brought to market under one umbrella, it soon became clear that potential buyers liked different markets. "It ended up that selling them individually brought a better price than the whole portfolio," he adds.
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