Denver-based multifamily real estate investment trust UDR expanded its joint venture with LaSalle Investment Management to $850M, contributing four additional properties to the partnership.

UDR and LaSalle announced in a statement that they closed on a $230M expansion of their joint venture, which started in 2023 with four properties at $530M.

The expansion adds 974 units to the venture, bringing the total to 2,564. The newly contributed properties are in Portland, Oregon, Orlando, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia.

UDR will encumber the new assets with 50% debt and place debt on existing joint venture assets to bring the total joint venture-level leverage to approximately 33%.

Under the terms of the deal, UDR retains 51% ownership of the properties and will receive $200M in cash proceeds, which it plans to use for share repurchases, debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

“These four apartment communities enhance the geographic diversification of the joint venture and offer current return to LaSalle,” Tom Toomey, UDR chairman, CEO and president, said in the statement.

The original four properties in the joint venture are the 284-unit Hawthorne Apartments in Seattle, the 320-unit Los Alisos at Mission Viejo in Orange County, California, the 364-unit Lodge at Ames Pond in Boston, and the 360-unit Signal Hill Apartments in Washington, D.C.

In October, UDR was one of many multifamily REITs that reported a shortage of new leases, leading to stagnant rent growth. Nationwide, total effective rent growth was down to negative 0.1% in the third quarter, according to Newmark.

Newmark’s multifamily research report projects stronger performance in the fourth quarter but says that while absorption for apartments in Q3 was positive, it had slowed down significantly compared to the last five quarters.

UDR owns or has an ownership position in 60,535 apartment units, including 300 under development. LaSalle manages $88.5B of assets globally, including private and public real estate and debt investments.