RIDGES OF CASCADE APARTMENTS
Grand Rapids, MI
237
UNITS
$240,506
PRICE PER UNIT
5.81%
CAP RATE
The NAI Team produced a Broker Opinion of Value along with top-quality marketing materials, convincing us that we should evaluate the proposed valuation. Their team and approach attracted a variety of investor types from across the country. NAI Wisinski Great Lakes brought us an offer that surpassed any previous sale price per unit for sale for suburban apartment communities in Michigan. We were extremely pleased with their performance.
- Chad Cassiday, Ridges of Cascade
Services Provided: Pre-Sale Positioning and Advisory Services, Marketing, Negotiation, Successful Disposal
CHALLENGE
NAI Wisinski Great Lakes was retained on an exclusive basis to market an exceptional, 237 unit, luxury apartment community. As a brand new Class A product with very little competition and high barriers to other new competing product, the property experienced very strong preleasing and was 100% occupied throughout the marketing period. Since the asset represented the top of the market, there was no available sales comparable data to support pricing. The property was justifiably worth much more than replacement cost. In addition, the property was performing significantly stronger than initially expected, which raised a significant buyer concern regarding potential property tax uncapping toward purchase price.
ACTION
The multifamily team utilized its extensive data base of over 3,000 investor groups, extending from coast-to-coast. That effort generated interest from, and competition between, institutional buyers from across the nation, as well as some foreign investors. The marketing process yielded numerous offers. The property tax concern was addressed by arranging a meeting between the buyer with the best offer, the local property tax assessor and NAI’s tax appeals expert. An understanding was reached between the buyer and assessor that helped to significantly alleviate buyer concerns regarding a property tax increase in the year after a sale. In addition, the NAI team convinced the seller to investigate green certification for the property. This saved 25 basis points for the buyer on its Freddie Mac mortgage; a very significant savings given the substantial loan size.
RESULT
The property sold at the highest price per unit ever recorded in Michigan for a suburban, market rate asset. A very well capitalized private equity group purchased the property as a long term hold. The property represented an opportunity to add an extremely high quality asset to the buyer’s portfolio, while entering a strong market segment that has limited competition and very high barriers to entry. Both the buyer and seller were happy with the result.
