Investors Snap Up $515 Million of South Florida Apartments in H1 of 2014

---

According to a report by the CBRE South Florida Multifamily Investment Properties team, South Florida's multifamily market commanded a record number of sales in the first half of 2014.
 
The report tracks sales in the $1 to $20 million range and shows 172 multifamily sales totaling more than $515 million, the strongest sales activity for the first half of a year since 2006.
 
"The relatively low cost basis that we experienced in 2010 and 2011 is now a thing of the past," said Calum Weaver, CBRE First Vice President. "However, interest in multifamily properties is unabated. Investors recognize the strong market fundamentals for apartment buildings which has contributed to the uptick in sale activity."
 
Added Ken Krasnow, CBRE South Florida Managing Director, "Above-average population growth in South Florida is driving the demand for multifamily product. According to the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, South Florida's population is expected to increase by 2.4 million people, or 29%, between 2013 and 2040."
 
Other CBRE highlights of the report include:

• Cap rates will remain in line with current levels although they may increase with any sudden uptick in interest rates.

• In 2013, there were 9,558 net units absorbed in South Florida. In the previous four years, the region averaged around 4,500 net absorbed units per year. The positive net absorption of units has helped drive down vacancies to record lows and rents to record highs. In 2014, we anticipate over 14,000 units to be completed in the region which is forecasted to be greater than the forecasted net absorption of 8,640 units.

• Value-add opportunities are still desirable; foreign investors, who are more prevalent than at any previous time in South Florida, are increasingly willing to invest in older product with upside potential.

• More than half of CBRE multifamily investment properties transactions in South Florida over the last year involved foreign buyers.