By Meghan Hall
A brand-new residential complex in Fife, Wash., has traded hands. According to public records, The Lux at Fife has sold to the Puyallup Tribe of Indians $13.565 million. The deal closed on November 13th, and the seller of the property was Tacoma, Wash.-based KCI Properties.
The residential complex is located at 6810 20th St. E and was just completed this year. According to RentCafe, the property includes a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that range in size from about 400 square feet to 1,118 square feet. Apartments come equipped with Corian countertops, decks, keyless entry, luxury vinyl flooring and stainless-steel appliances. Rents begin at $1,100 per month and increase up to $2,420 per month.
The property is located just off of Interstate 5 and State Route 99, not far from the Puyallup River and several shopping centers anchored by Fife Aquatic Center, Subway and Starbucks. A large number of logistics centers and employers such as Prologis, FedEx and Lennox Stores are nearby.
A number of apartment complexes have traded hands throughout the region over the past several months as 2020 comes to a close. Just a week prior, the Ladera-Heatherwood Apartment complex in Tukwila traded for $14.4 million or $218, 181 per unit. The buyer was affiliated with Colo.-based Woodspear Ladera LLC. The Bayside Garden Apartments, a 63-unit complex in Tacoma, also traded at the beginning of November. The property sold for $11.9 million in an off-market transaction.
Through the end of the third quarter, multifamily product remained relatively stable across the Puget Sound. Analysis of the market released by Colliers International at the end of the third quarter indicates that the third quarter saw a “significant” rebound in investment volume from the previous quarter, increasing by 282 percent from $165 million to $630 million. Per unit pricing came in at around $358,000, down 17.5 percent quarter-over-quarter, but up 45 percent year-over-year. While sales volume is still low when compared with the five-year average, Colliers notes that an increase in activity is a positive for the sector.
Additionally, Colliers’ report highlights that suburban counties, including Pierce County where The Lux at Fife is located, have seen their fundamentals strengthen. Pierce County saw its rents increase 4.6 percent, while Snohomish saw its rents bump up by 2.5 percent. In King County, which holds 70 percent of the region’s apartment stock, rent’s declined 2.6 percent and occupancy decreased 1.2 percent.
In Pierce County, occupancy sits at 95. 8 percent across all unit types. The fundamentals reflect tenants’ and investors’ flight to suburban locations, a trend that has continued throughout the duration of the pandemic.
