Downtown and Bellevue aren’t the only games in town when it comes to multifamily, Turning Point Realty Advisors’ David Mortensen tells us (he’s snapped with his 2-year-old Dexter, rowing at the University of Washington). Rent growth is similar, 13% in the ‘burbs and 15% in-city in the last two years, after correcting for all the new product coming on line in-city. “But buyers are paying cap rates that are 110 basis points higher for urban product vs. suburban,” David notes.

Meanwhile, new supply has been basically flat in suburban King and Snohomish counties, creating a lot of opportunities for value-add investors, David says: “Look to quality suburban markets close to jobs or transit, and you can’t go wrong.” Recently David, with colleagues Matthew Balkman and David Chapman, repped the sellers of the 140-unit Belvedere Apartments and the neighboring 168-unit Aspens at Ridgeview, both in Seatac. Prime Residential bought both for a combined price of $57M and will operate them as a single property, Belvedere at Aspen Heights.