With homeownership still declining, the fundamentals for apartments are soaring above other sectors, and the West is best—home to more than half of the nation's Top 10 multifamily markets. That's why we're thrilled to host the top players in this thriving market at Bisnow's national multifamily conference tomorrow, an all-day event starting at 8:15am at the JW Marriott at LA LIVE. 

Among our panelists will be Berkadia senior managing director Dean Zander (here whispering to Warren Buffett at a client appreciation event in Omaha), who tells us that while SoCal has long been a favored market nationally for multifamily investors, with LA ranked second only to New York in terms of new job creation, he’s experiencing heightened demand in an already competitive environment. In order to remain competitive nowadays, he says, investors are finding they often need to offer non-contingent money from day one, especially if it's a newer asset. Of the six deals Dean and his team closed since June, four of them fit this trend.

​MJW Properties, an LA-based private real estate investment firm, closed on institutional-quality residential buy in the Inland Empire, paying $44 mil for Broadstone Overlook, a 256-unit ($172k/unit) asset in Moreno Valley. The community, located at 12963 Moreno Beach Dr, is situated within the desirable Rancho Belago submarket of eastern Moreno Valley. Broadstone Overlook was built in 2007 by Alliance Residential

Berkadia’s Los Angeles office has closed on four multifamily sales in the San Fernando Valley totaling $57 million. Investors are heading to the San Fernando Valley submarket to take advantage the high demand and limited construction, and these sales show than investor interest continues to grow.

Four apartment properties in the San Fernando Valley have been sold by long-term owners in separate transactions totaling more than $57M. Berkadia's Dean Zander and Vince Norris handled the listings for the properties, which total 269 units.

The dynamic duo closed the deals over a three-week period. Dean (with wife Kristina, daughter Georgia and son Drake in Kauai last month) notes each seller's motivation was different, but the deals all underscore investors' appetite for multifamily product in strong submarkets like the SF Valley. All four properties boast close proximity to major employment, transportation, recreation and entertainment options, along with upside potential. Essential Management bought the 37-unit South Seas Apartments on Saticoy Street in Reseda—known as the setting for the 1984 hit The Karate Kid—from a private seller. The brokers wax on that the buyer plans to renovate the units and common areas, and retrofit the parking area.