By Meghan Hall
Many of Seattle’s submarkets are hot, with many multifamily properties changing hands as developers and investors strategize and grow their portfolios in the region. Some of these submarkets, such as the Eastside market of Bellevue or Seattle’s Denny Triangle, are extremely popular. However, the South King County market is slowly gaining traction due to its proximity to the City and to the region’s airport, Seattle-Tacoma International. Seattle-based investment advisory firm Raymond Capital Advisors is slowly expanding its portfolio in the region and recently acquired the 55-unit Sunset Station Apartments $13.9 million, or almost $253,000 per unit, according to King County records.
The asset, located at 3351 S. 175th St., was sold by CH Sea Tac LLC, a Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., entity associated with Mana J. Chernoff. The sale closed on Feb. 25th. According to Apartments.com, the complex is better known as “Avion,” and the complex has a variety of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from around 545 square feet to 1,293 square feet. Amenities listed include a barbecue area, patios and balconies, a play area, a fitness and recreation center, and on-site maintenance.
Located right off of State Route 99, the development is within walking distance of SeaTac; the surrounding neighborhood is more residential but includes several hotels such as the Clarion Hotel, Crowne Plaza Seattle Airport and the Seattle Airport Marriott. South Center and Interstate 5 are also just to the east, as is a shopping center anchored by Costco, the Home Depot and other major retailers such as Ross and Nordstrom Rack.
In February 2018, Raymond Capital Advisors also acquired the 53-unit Taylor Creek Apartments. The development, also in South King County and just 10 minutes from the Sunset Station Complex, was purchased for $13.1 million, or around $247,170 per unit. Almost exactly a year earlier in February 2017, Raymond Capital purchased the 75-unit Woodcrest Apartments in Burien for $11.9 million or $158,667 per unit from Seattle-based The Stratford Company.
Although in 2018 the Puget Sound market experienced a decline of more than 20 percent in transaction volume from peak sales year of 2016, overall pricing for multifamily assets was up, according to Colliers International 2019 Apartment Market Study. South King County had 55 sales in 2018 for a total sales volume of $1.15 billion. The average price per unit was $181,083, the report states. Colliers predicts that interest in South King County will only continue to grow, and classified South King County’s market fundamentals as having “perfect curves,” thanks to increases in pricing that made up for lower transaction volumes. Colliers says that South King has a demonstrated runway for future growth, unlike many other parts of the county where investors are seeing rent growth and sales pricing plateau.
