By Meghan Hall
Seattle’s downtown core is no longer the only place where high-end apartment communities are trading for top dollar, and Puget Sound suburbs are continuing to garner the interest of major investors. In a transaction that closed just today, Security Properties closed on a big investment in Issaquah, buying the Issaquah Anthology Apartments for $163.25 million from Scottsdale, Ariz.-based The Wolff Company. The price per unit was about $410,000.
The 398-unit complex was completed in 2018 and is a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units laid out in an urban-style grid, with two podium style buildings, 16 garden-style buildings and clubhouse. Amenities include a community park and pool. A business center and game room are also part of the community.
According to popular Apartments.com, units range in size from about 400 square feet to more than 1,200 square feet. Unit features include flat-panel cabinets, marbled quartz countertops, views of Lake Sammamish, balconies, oversized kitchen islands and subway tile.
The Wolff Company is extremely active in the Puget Sound, with other projects such as Revel, a senior living community also in Issaquah in the works. In 2016, the firm surpassed 30,000 apartment units, and to date owns more than 35,000 units. The company primarily focuses on the Western United States and has more than 9.000 multifamily units at various stages of development, according to its website.
Seattle-based Security Properties also owns well more than a dozen properties throughout the region, including the August Apartments in Seattle, the Gilman Square Apartments, also in Issaquah, and the Arras Apartments in Bellevue.
The transaction follows shortly on the heels of several large multifamily sales this quarter, including the recent sale of The Arbors at Edgewood in Pierce County for $64.7 million, or about $255,000 per unit.
A fourth quarter market report released by Marcus and Millichap emphasized that the suburbs are becoming an increasingly attractive opportunity for investors looking to maximize their returns. The price tag for multifamily properties has increased by 2.2 percent over the past year, averaging about $241,000 per unit. The brokerage firm predicts that as tech expansion continues throughout the Eastside and employees choose to commute further to increase savings, demographics for suburban multifamily properties—and therefore investor interest—will remain strong.
