The Phoenix apartment market is hot enough that infill value-add properties from five years ago still have potential as infill value-add properties. That is, a new owner can still drive rents by making improvements on top of those done a few years ago.

That's the case with the the 226-unit Sorrento Apartments at 901 S Dobson Rd in Mesa, which traded recently for $18M. “Sorrento offers the buyer, Silverstone Moreno, a value-add opportunity and a strong infill location,” Colliers International's Cindy Cooke tells us. The upside potential will be through interior upgrades and improvements to the common areas and amenities.

Hamilton Zanze CIO Kurt Houtkooper, whose company sold the property, says his company owned Sorrento for a little over five years, and net operating income grew significantly during ownership. The firm completed several capital projects, including upgrading unit interiors and improving the property's appearance. He says the market supported an opportunistic sale at this time. Built in 1983, Sorrento underwent $2.5M in exterior and amenity renovations in 2009 and 2013.