Empire Income Group Pays $12M for Multifamily Portfolio

FONTANA, CA- The Empire Income Group of Oakland, Calif. has acquired a seven-property, 245-unit multifamily portfolio for $12.12 million. The seller is described only as a San Diego-based LLC.

Fontana is located east of Los Angeles in Southern California’s Inland Empire region. The properties in the portfolio include two 60-unit properties, two 28-unit properties, a 32-unit property, a 23-unit property and a 14-unit property. The properties range in age from 14 years to 44 years.

The 60-unit Juniper Terrace Apartments at 9330 Juniper Ave. was built in 1988 and sold for $2.86 million. The 60-unit Alder Apartments at 9804 Alder Ave. was constructed in 1989 and sold for $2.98 million. The 32-unit Randall Arms Apartments was built in 1964 and sold for $1.46 million. The 28-unit Juniper Apartments at 9023 Juniper Ave. sold for $1.65 million. The 28-unit Las Rosas Apartments at 9170 Acacia Ave. was constructed in 1987 and sold for $1.39 million. The 23-unit Tamarind Apartments at 8538 Tamarind Ave. was constructed in 1975 and sold for $1.14 million. Finally, the unnamed 14-unit apartment community at 9150 Olive Ave. sold for $627,000.

The buyer was represented by John Stephens, a senior specialist in the Ontario office of Marcus & Millichap. Stephens is a member of M&M’s National Multi Housing Group, a division of the company focused exclusively on the marketing of multi-family investment properties.

Inland Empire rents rose to an average of $875 during the third quarter, a 4.9% gain within the past year, while the occupancy rate stood at 95.5%, up just a fraction from the second quarter, according to RealFacts. RealFacts says the inventory of apartments in Orange County is heavily weighted toward smaller unit types, with studios and one-bedrooms accounting for about half of all rental units.