Shamah acquires $42M Brooklyn portfolio

Multi-family real estate investment firm Shamah Properties has acquired a six-building, 376-unit Ditmas Park, Brooklyn portfolio for $42.1 million, Michael Kaplan, director of property management for Shamah, told The Real Deal today. The company, which launched a $50 million investment fund last year to acquire multi-family properties in New York City, closed on the portfolio April 19, which includes buildings at 2015 Foster Avenue, 1 St. Paul’s Court, 200 East 18th Street, 350 East 19th Street, 75 Hawthorne Street and 2101 Bedford Avenue. The deal has not yet hit public records.

“These properties represented significant potential growth,” Kaplan said today. “We negotiated the purchase, the financing and will be managing these assets within our already existing management company, Shamco Management.”

Aaron Jungreis, founder and president of Rosewood Realty Group, brokered the deal of behalf of the buyer and the seller. While Kaplan declined to comment on the identity of the seller, public records show the buildings were formerly owned by Skyline NYC, LLC. Skyline was not immediately reachable for comment while Jungreis was not available.

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With this deal, Shamah currently has more than 20 properties under management, largely in Flatbush, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, Kaplan said. The company has been actively expanding its portfolio, and is looking for rent-stabilized buildings with potential upside that can be opened up through renovations, The Real Deal previously reported.

Meanwhile, competition may be heating up for multi-family opportunities. The overall volume of New York City multi-family transactions increased by 34 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, according to data released earlier this month by Ariel Property Advisors, and was up 11 percent over the fourth quarter of 2011. Brooklyn had 42 transactions in the first quarter, made up of 59 buildings totaling $181 million, compared to 24 transactions, consisting of 33 buildings in 2011.