EVERETT — An apartment complex has sold for $38 million, as rising rents and few empty units are attracting national firms to invest in such properties.
Security Properties recently sold the Hearthstone at Merrill Creek complex to Colorado-based UDR Inc. The price for the 220-unit complex translates to more than for $172,000 per apartment unit.
Jon Hallgrimson, executive vice president with CB Richard Ellis, which represented the seller, said apartment complexes in good condition are an “attractive buy,” especially because demand for apartments is as high as ever in the Puget Sound region.
Located at 1901 Merrill Creek Parkway, Hearthstone at Merrill Creek was built in 2000 on 14 acres in southwest Everett. Rents at the gated complex near the Boeing Co.’s plant start at $900 and run above $1,400 a month for townhouse-style units.
In 2004, the complex was sold to Security Properties for $23 million, or $105,000 per unit. At the time, that was believed to be the highest per-apartment price ever paid for a complex in the south Everett area.
The assessed value of the property this year was just under $23 million, according to the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office.
UDR Inc. already owns eight other apartment communities in the Puget Sound region, including the Hawthorne Apartments in Mill Creek. Nationwide, the large commercial real estate firm owns more than 40,000 apartments in scores of complexes.
Demand for apartments across Snohomish County hasn’t slackened, with more than 95 percent of units in most areas occupied as of this spring.
As of last month, the average rent in the region stretching from Snohomish to Pierce counties was $952, nearly 8 percent higher than a year ago, according to Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors. A low jobless rate and higher barriers for home- buyers in the wake of the mortgage meltdown have helped buoy demand for apartments, with less than 5 percent of units sitting vacant this spring.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
