As seen in BisNow
Locally based buyers jumped into the fray during a busy week for multifamily investment sales in metro Denver, with assets trading in the heart of the city as well as its suburbs.
Deal activity often picks up in Q4 as investors race to deploy their remaining allocations. But this week, Denver-based players capitalized on their home-court advantage, leveraging local insights to get a piece of the pie.
“Local groups have a unique advantage — they’re often more nimble and able to see and act on opportunities that institutional players might overlook. They also tend to have stronger conviction about Denver’s supply story and a clearer understanding of local dynamics,” Trailbreak Partners co-founder and principal Doug Elenowitz said in an email.
Trailbreak Partners joined forces with fellow Denver-based investment firm Quannah Partners to acquire Kabin Apartments, a 194-unit property in Zeppelin Development’s buzzy Taxi project. The River North Arts District property sold for $39.5M.
Meanwhile, Avanti Residential, another local player, closed on its second Northglenn property. The Beacon House Apartments at 10738 Huron St. sold for $16.4M, as reported by the Denver Business Journal.
Two interest rate cuts have spurred increased interest and activity in capital markets, but large institutional investors have largely remained on the sidelines as they wait for clarity on pricing.
The exception this week was Chicago-based Equity Residential’s acquisition of Aventine Littleton, a Highlands Ranch community developed by Greenwood Village-based Century Communities. That property sold for $91.25M according to Mile High CRE.
Elenowitz said some sellers could be influenced by other obligations such as facing challenges in the stubborn office market, for example, and are attempting to unlock capital by offloading multifamily properties.
“Over the past year, we’ve gained better visibility into the ‘new normal’ of higher interest rates, have seen inflation moderate, and have started to see price discovery stabilize, giving local groups more confidence to step in,” Elenowitz said.
