Blackstone has made headlines by selling a 349-unit apartment complex located in Miramar for an impressive sum of approximately $121.3 million.
This sale signals a notable recovery in the multifamily real estate market.
Acquisition Details
The property, now named Bell Miramar Place, has been acquired by Bell Partners, a firm headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The acquisition, completed through their value-add fund VIII, came at a price of around $347,564 per unit.
To help finance this deal, Bell Partners secured a loan for $73.6 million from Fannie Mae.
Originally built in 2012, the complex comprises 15 three-story buildings and includes two garages, all situated on a sprawling 17.7-acre property at 11338 Southwest 45th Place.
Blackstone had previously bought this asset through an affiliate in 2017 for $77.7 million.
Bell Miramar Place boasts a selection of one to three-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents starting at $2,058, as indicated on the Bell Partners website.
Market Trends and Recent Activity
Blackstone, a global asset management powerhouse, managed approximately $1.1 trillion in assets as of September 30.
Under the leadership of CEO Stephen Schwarzman, the firm has been particularly active in South Florida’s multifamily sector.
Recently, Blackstone also sold the 394-unit Pinebrook Pointe in Margate for $93 million.
In June, they clinched a significant deal, acquiring AIR Communities, a multifamily company that separated from Aimco in 2020, in a transaction valued at around $10 billion.
On another front, Blackstone is reportedly negotiating the purchase of a retail portfolio in Soho, New York, for about $200 million—marking the largest retail deal in Manhattan in over three years.
Bell Partners, under CEO Lili Dunn’s leadership, focuses on multifamily investments along with property and construction management.
The firm has seen considerable success in 2022, including the sale of three multifamily properties in Broward County.
Notably, The Villas at Ibis Landing in Parkland sold for $155 million, and two adjacent Miramar complexes brought in a total of $138 million.
Investment Landscape
The beginning of 2023 brought a slowdown in multifamily investment sales in South Florida, contrasting sharply with the feverish activity of the previous two years.
Contributing factors included rising interest rates, hesitance among lenders, a drop in new residents moving to the region, and a decrease in rental prices.
Many recent transactions have been executed by buyers with available discretionary funds, often taking advantage of favorable financing terms from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, or insurance companies, as opposed to traditional bank loans.
Last year, Bell Partners successfully wrapped up its value-add fund VIII after raising an impressive $1.3 billion in equity from a mix of domestic and international investors.
In other real estate news, Kushner Companies is reportedly under contract to acquire The Hamilton, a 28-story, 276-unit apartment building in Miami, for $190 million.
Meanwhile, Grant Cardone’s Cardone Capital, through its associated funds, has made substantial investments in multifamily properties located in Fort Lauderdale and Plantation, totaling over $200 million.
Source: Therealdeal