Sale of Apartment Building Portfolio Shows Boston Commercial Real Estate is 'White Hot'

The sale of a million-dollar portfolio of apartment buildings in Allston is turning up the temperatures in Boston’s already “white hot real estate market,” the Boston Globe said in a report.

According to the report, three buildings owned by Boston developer The Mount Vernon Co. have been sold to National Development for nearly $150 million, which is “one of the higher prices ever for a multifamily property in the city.” The buildings are located in the Green District along Commonwealth Avenue.

The report said that the deal is yet to be finalized but real estate experts remarked that it reflects the rising demand for multi-family apartment spaces in the city spurred by “rapid population growth and low vacancy rates” that are pushing rents up.

In an interview, Chris Sower, managing director of Boston Realty Advisors, which brokered the sale of the apartment portfolio said, “We’re seeing a high level of demand for most of the assets on the market right now.”

Property experts said apartment valuations have jumped sharply in the city as investors see the asset more as a potent revenue source than stocks or other type of properties.

The report also said that an increased demand for dwelling spaces has resulted to a spate of new constructions for apartments in several neighborhoods in the city.

“There is an overwhelming amount of capital looking at multifamily assets, especially in Boston,” JLL senior vice president Travis D’Amato was quoted as saying in the report. “We’re one of the top three markets in the country right now.”

Tom Alperin, president of National Development, said his company is looking at the apartment portfolio as a “long-term” investment and they’re not planning to boost the rents in the space even if rents are skyrocketing elsewhere in Boston.

One-bedroom apartment units in the apartment complex cost $2,100 monthly, half the amount of rents for newly built units in downtown Boston.

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