Exponential Property Group has picked up Quality Estates’ Dallas-Fort Worth portfolio of eight value-add apartment properties scattered across the Metroplex in Garland, Grand Prairie, Fort Worth and Dallas. The acquisition comes as Dallas multifamily rent growth is cooling.

The eight properties, which range from 122 units to 358 units, were built between 1977 and 1985. Before being consolidated into a single portfolio, each property was held by a single owner for an average of 28 years.

Institutional Property Advisors Executive Director Will Balthrope, who brokered the deal, calls the units well-maintained by long-term in-house management with little-to-no deferred maintenance issues. That presents a unique niche in the current market, where new construction, at much higher price points, continues to dominate the region.

“The portfolio gives the new owner tremendous first-generation repositioning upside,” Balthrope said.

IPA estimates up to 95% of the 2,048 units are prime for value-add positioning, providing significant economies of scale. IPA did not disclose the sales price on the properties.

In a separate report out last week, Richardson-based RealPage reported a slowing of growth in apartment rents across the country. In Dallas, annual rent changes are just under 1%, compared to a national average of 2.3%.

The nation's strongest rent pushes typically occur in Q2, setting the tone for the rest of the year, according to RealPage. The cooler months are typically more slow in multifamily.

“If you miss the window to drive rents during the second quarter, it’s tough to counter that shortfall later in the year,” RealPage Chief Economist Greg Willett said. “Even though demand generally holds up through late summer, by August or September there’s a tendency to position rents more conservatively in order to fill as many units as possible before the seasonal slowdown in leasing begins.”

The portfolio of properties purchased by Exponential Property Group are:

• Pecan Knoll, 358 units, Garland.

• Broadway Manor, 134 units, Garland.

• Quail Ridge, 292 units, Grand Prairie.

• Cedar Point of Arlington, 272 units, Arlington.

• The Woodlands, 346 units, Fort Worth.

• Marine Creek, 248 units, Fort Worth.

• Normandale Manor, 122 units, Fort Worth.

• Emerald Hills, 276 units, Fort Worth.

CORRECTION, JULY 16, 10:16 A.M. CT: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the buyer. IPA brokered the deal, and Exponential Property Group was the purchaser. The story has been updated.