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Market Report

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Panhandle
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has announced the sale of Hidden Villas, a 96-unit multifamily community located in Tallahassee, according to Richard D. Matricaria, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset commanded a sales price of $2,700,000.

Michael P. Regan and Francesco P. Carriera, both vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, represented the Virginia-based seller, a financial institution and the buyer, a private investor from Mississippi.

Hidden Villas was built in 1972 and is located at 2131 North Meridian Road in Tallahassee. The property is situated on approximately 8.85 acres of land and consists of 21 two-story residential buildings. The unit mix features 37 two-bedroom/one-bath units, 43 two-bedroom/two-bath units and 16 three-bedroom/two-bath units. Hidden Villas’ amenities include washer/dryer connections in select units, an on-site laundry facility and a pool.

"With the help of our national marketing campaign, we were able to generate 12 offers from buyers in nine cities representing five different states and one European country," said Carriera. "Our exposure created a competitive bidding environment for the property which ensured our seller a probable closing at the highest possible price. The buyer was out of state and it was his first multifamily acquisition in Tallahassee."

Northeast Florida
Behringer Harvard announced its acquisition of Wimberly at Deerwood, a 312-unit multifamily community in Jacksonville. Located at 9727 Touchton Road, just off Southside Boulevard (State Road 115), the community offers residents convenient access to Jacksonville International Airport as well as connections to the metro area's interstate highways and major employment centers.

Wimberly at Deerwood was acquired for the portfolio of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, Inc. through a joint venture with ApexOne Investment Partners, Inc., a Houston-based real estate investment firm. Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, Inc. is the controlling partner.

"We believe that Wimberly at Deerwood is a well-leased asset that offers stable cash flow and attractive upside potential," said Michael O'Hanlon, Chief Executive Officer of Behringer Harvard's Opportunity Platform. "Over the next few years, we intend to make incremental interior and exterior improvements that will further enhance the appeal of this popular community."

Wimberly at Deerwood offers apartments with one, two or three bedrooms; nine-foot ceilings; wood flooring in kitchens and entryways; full-size washers and dryers and an average unit size of 914 square feet. Community amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, business center, 60-person theater room and courts for sand volleyball and basketball.

A diverse economic base, a young and energetic population and a high quality of life have contributed to Jacksonville's substantial growth in recent decades. The city has one of the largest military presences in the nation and is a transportation hub boasting a deep water port, four airports, three seaports, a highway system that links the city to three major interstates, and a rail system served by three railroads.

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Two Reasons Why Jacksonville's Apartment Market Thrives
Digested from "Jacksonville Apartment Market Still the 'Darling' of Commercial Property"
Jacksonville Business Journal (03/04/13) Kritzer, Ashley Gurbal

Property professionals report that Jacksonville's apartment market has continued its hot streak in the first quarter of 2013, propelled by two main factors -- new household formation and the continued tight lending restrictions on single-family mortgages. Matt Wilcox, a vice president with Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) locally, states: "Multifamily remains and probably will continue to be the darling of the commercial property sector. ... There are several deals under agreement right now and you will see continued transaction activity this year, probably with the same number of closings, but maybe not as heavy a dollar volume." ARA continues to be among the most active, recently closing a total of $74 million in apartment transactions in the Jacksonville area. Not to be outdone, Tampa-based Landmark Residential recently purchased two more apartment communities from Equity Residential (EQR), which is exiting several markets including Jacksonville. Late last year, Landmark acquired a $72.5 million Jacksonville apartment portfolio from EQR.

Central Florida

Developers won preliminary approval on Tuesday for a mixed-use project planned for the last major undeveloped block in downtown Orlando.

The 5.6-acre Central Station site, across Orange Avenue from the Orange County Courthouse, adjoins what will be the main SunRail stop downtown.

RIDA Development's plan is broken into three phases, with the first including a six-story, 275-unit apartment building with a 411-space parking garage, a 126-room hotel and 97-space parking lot. Later phases include a nine-story garage and two office buildings.
Orlando's Municipal Planning Board approved the master plan Tuesday, a vote that will likely be ratified by the City Council.

It's a transit-oriented development designed to appeal to residents and workers who would ride the adjacent commuter train.

Construction will begin first on the apartments, probably late this year, said Michael Blackwell of Crescent Resources, RIDA's multifamily development partner.

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Avalon Park Partnership with Swiss Real Estate Investment Group to start development of four-story apartment building
Avalon Park in east Orlando is about to get a third downtown apartment building.

Stephanie Hodson, vice president of marketing at Avalon Park Group, developers of Avalon Park, said a partnership with sitEX Properties AG, a Swiss real estate investment company headquartered in Basel, will start construction of the Avalon Park Town Center III building within the next 90 days.

Hodson said 95 rental apartments are planned in the four story building that totals 100,000 square feet of living space.

"sitEX and Avalon Park Group have several partnerships both in the U.S. and Switzerland," Hodson said.

Bay Area
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Hickory Crest, an 18-unit apartment community located in Brooksville, according to Richard D. Matricaria, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset commanded a sales price of $385,000.

Michael Donaldson, a senior associate and multifamily specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the local seller, a limited liability company, and also represented the buyer, a private investor.

Hickory Crest was built in 1983 and is located at 173 Hickory Street. The property consists of two eight-plex buildings and a duplex, all constructed of wood frame on a concrete slab resting on 1.36 acres of land. The unit mix consists of 18 two-bedroom and one-bath units ranging from 783 to 800 rentable square feet. Each unit contains full-size washer and dryer connections, as well as central air-conditioning.

"Even though this property was almost 100 percent occupied at the time of sale, we were receiving a large amount of pushback due to the low cap rate," says Donaldson. "However, we ended up closing with a local apartment owner who saw an opportunity to achieve greater income levels by adding aggressive advertising and management. We eventually closed at an excellent price per unit for the submarket."

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Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has announced the sale of Divine Condos, a slightly fractured, 26- of 28-unit rental condominium community located in south Tampa, according to Richard D. Matricaria, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset commanded a sales price of $1,475,000, which translates to $56,731 per unit and $101 per square foot.

Casey Babb, a CCIM and senior multifamily specialist, and Luis Baez, associate, both in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the local seller, a private investor. A cooperating broker secured the buyer of the property, also a private investor located in Tampa.

Divine Condos is a charming, "Class B+" garden-style condominium, built in 1983 and located at 6822 South Shamrock Drive in south Tampa. The community consists of 28 total units, of which 26 condo rentals were offered for sale. Units are 100 percent one-bedroom/one-bathroom housed in a single, two-story, concrete block building with a brick façade and pitched shingle roofs.

Between 2006 and 2007, the community received a massive renovation to the exteriors and unit interiors at a cost of nearly $800,000. Nearly every element of the building is less than five years of age and the property benefits today with a consistently high occupancy level and top-of-the-market rents.

"This sale represented a 35 percent premium to the 2011 sale price of $1.1 million, which illustrates just how much the market has improved in two years," says Babb. "During that time, rents have improved and interest rates have dropped, allowing investors to pay premium prices and still achieve double-digit returns."

Southeast Florida
Hendricks-Berkadia Negotiates $1.4 Million Price in Sale of Eight-Acre Development Site in Palm Beach County
Hendricks-Berkadia, an active multifamily investment banking, research and real estate advisory company, recently negotiated a $1.4 million sale price for an eight-acre development site on Military Trail and Knollwood Road in Palm Beach County.

Cole Whitaker
, partner who heads the southeast division of Hendricks-Berkadia, and associate partner Hal Warren negotiated the sale representing the seller, Capstone Resdev, LLC.

CA Miami 7788 OMT LLC was the buyer.
 
Cardillo Law Firm
Mac-Gray
The Lake Doctors, Inc.
Commercial Fitness Products
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