An Israeli investment fund has bought up a Tucker-area multifamily property.
CiTYR Group purchased LaVista Crossing, a 240-unit apartment project within striking distance of Northlake Mall. The price was undisclosed, but CiTYR did obtain a $19.5M bridge loan with KeyBank Real Estate Capital to fund its purchase. This is CiTYR's second Georgia multifamily buy, after acquiring a nearly 400-unit project in Warner Robins last year.
CiTYR CEO Michael Sabo stated in an email that the firm is in “advanced negotiations” on three other Atlanta-area properties. Those were undisclosed.
CiTYR is not alone in its desire to expand multifamily holdings in Atlanta. Despite a pipeline of more than 10,000 new units under construction, apartment landlords had a remarkable year last year, with rent growth nearly double the national average at 6.6%, according to Colliers International. Occupancy is at more than 95%, which Colliers noted is seven points higher than the post-2009 recession low, but it also stated that rent growth may be more modest moving forward.
And a recent Marcus & Millichap report indicated that investor demand for multifamily in Metro Atlanta is very strong, given "the area's higher returns of up to 150 basis points above gateway cities."
That will only fuel demand in Atlanta this year. In 2016, strong investor activity pushed the average per-unit sales price up 8% to $90,400, with apartments in Midtown and Buckhead netting $130k/unit or more.
