In San Fernando Valley, 97-unit complex sells for $26M

While the pandemic has sunk commercial real estate property prices across most sectors, apartments have been among the very few exceptions. Demand, it seems, remains high.

And so does transaction activity. In the latest deal, Sussex Capital Group paid $26.4 million for a 97-unit apartment complex in the San Fernando Valley.

The seller was a private family through an entity called J.E.M.S. Corp., according to Commercial Observer, which first reported on the deal. J.E.M.S. acquired the property in 2004 for $11.2 million, CO reported. The firm sold as part of a wider exit from the California market.

Mountain View Manor Apartments in Chatsworth has a mix of one- and two-bedroom units across four buildings. Because it received a certificate of occupancy in 1978, it is not subject to Los Angeles’ rent control laws, which took effect that same year, according to the report.

The complex, at 21700 Septo Street, is spread across two acres. Each building has a pool and patio area.

Woodland Hills-based Sussex Capital Group owns at least 11 other apartment complexes, according to its website. It targets value-add investments.

The coronavirus pandemic has put downward pressure on rents at higher segments of the market, but rents at older buildings have been remained largely the same. California’s temporary eviction ban remains in place, and some landlords with relatively few holdings worry they don’t have the capital to get through the third quarter. [CO] — Dennis Lynch