By Jack Stubbs
Another apartment property in Seattle recently changed hands on Thursday, January 11th: the Youngstown Flats apartments in West Seattle sold for $72 million, or roughly $369,230 per unit, according to public records filed with King County.
The buyers of the property are listed as Pacnorth Properties LLC (56 percent owner) and Rivercroft Real Estate Assets LLC (44 percent owner), two entities who share the same address as San Diego, California-based One Diamond Electronics Inc. One Diamond is not affiliated with the transaction, according to a representative from the company. However the signature of Augusto Arriaga Abraham, president of the company, appears on public documents associated with the apartment sale. The seller is listed in public documents as Bit Investment Fifty-Seven LLC, a trust that is administered by PNC Bank, according to William K. Mihm, vice president of the bank.
According to the property listing on apartments.com, the 6-story apartment complex was built in 2013 and contains 195 units. The property offers one- and two-bedroom units. The one-bedroom units range in size from 592 to 887 square feet and rent for between $1,658 and $2,988. The two-bedroom units are between 992 and 1,176 square feet, with rents between $2,224 and $4,045.
Some of the prominent in-unit amenities include hardwood floors, walk-in closet, patio and balcony and stone counters. Property amenities available to residents include a rooftop lounge area, business and media center, car charging station and on-site maintenance, according to the web site.
Located at 4040 26th Ave. SW, the apartment building in Youngstown is roughly one mile from West Seattle and two miles from the Industrial District. Additionally, the property is approximately one mile from access to West Seattle Bridge.
According to a third quarter 2017 report from Kidder Mathews multifamily investments group—the most recent available—regional apartment market vacancy rate is currently 3.9 percent, a figure well below the 20-year average of 4.9 percent. This figure is up from 3.4 percent stated in the spring 2017 report. This trend is the first indication of a leveling of the landlord/tenant balance, according to the report. The margin between net and gross vacancy has increased over the past two years and will continue to be wider than shown historically, which is keyed to high new construction volumes, according to the report.
Regional rental rates are up as well. Over the past twelve months, the average regional rent increased from $1,420 to $1,531 (an increase of 7.8 percent). The King-Central sub-region has the highest overall rent in the region, currently averaging $1,964/month ($2.90/sf/ month), up 6.6 percent over the past year. According to the report, a portion of the increase is attributed to the higher prices of new units delivered over the past three years. Some submarkets like Ballard, Greenlake, Redmond and Bellevue West have seen new units surpass the starting inventory of three years ago.
