The multifamily property market across the greater Puget Sound region seems to be picking up in the fourth quarter of 2022. One deal that closed at the end of September is an indication that interest in this region remains strong. In a $79 million deal, or roughly $411,458 per unit, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Pacific Urban purchased the 192-unit Olde Redmond Place apartment property located at 7001 Old Redmond Rd in Redmond. The seller was an entity associated with San Francisco-based Gerson Bakar & Associates.
Gerson had owned the property since January of 2015. At that time, the multifamily investor paid $47 million for the asset. The seller at that time was Chicago-based Equity Residential.
Olde Redmond Apartments was developed in 1984, and it is located in the Grass Lawn neighborhood, adjacent to downtown Redmond. This neighborhood feels suburban with mid-range and upscale rentals available including beautiful single-family homes in cul-de-sacs and mid-rise apartments along tree-lined streets, according to the property’s website on apartments.com.
The property is also in close proximity to Redmond Town Center and Marymoor Park, a popular local park for outdoor activities, concerts and events.
The property features one- and two-bedroom units, ranging in size from 700 square feet to 968 square feet. The rent goes from $2,055 to $2,465, according to apartments.com.
Pacific Urban has been on a shopping spree across the region in the last few years. According to previous reporting by The Registry, the company spent $90 million to buy the 172-unit Alley24 Apartments in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Roughly a year ago, in November of 2021, Pacific Urban purchased the 179-unit Panorama Apartments in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood. That year, the company announced a merger with affiliate Hanover Real Estate Investors and spent another $46.5 million on the 274-unit Row Apartments in Kent.
Gerson Bakar is a San Francisco-based real estate investment firm focused on properties in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
According to the second quarter of 2022 Seattle Multifamily Market Trends report by brokerage firm Kidder Mathews, all major drivers for the region’s multifamily market are pointing in the right direction. Vacancy has been decreasing along with unemployment, which has helped push up rental rates, as well as construction deliveries. Kidder Mathews estimates 3,613 units were delivered in the second quarter across the region, which beats 3,588 units delivered a year earlier. 28,512 units are under construction in the second quarter with vacancy slightly going up to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in an earlier quarter and down from 5.1 percent from a year ago. At the same time, the average sales price per unit across the region has increased over 16 percent, from $234,238 to $272,104.
