TIAA-CREF buys Coconut Creek apartment complex for $45.3M

A company managed by TIAA-CREF just paid $45.3 million for an apartment complex in Coconut Creek, property records show.

The 268-unit property at 4854 Fishermans Drive marks yet another sale of an apartment complex in South Florida, yet another sign of demand for multifamily properties.

Records show CVII-Landings at Coconut Creek LLC bought the 22-acre property from New York-based Abacus Capital Group. The trade breaks down to about $169,000 per unit, or $178 per square foot.

Abacus invests in multi-family properties throughout the nation, according to its website. Records show it purchased the apartment complex in 2015 for $33.2 million, meaning it traded at a 36 percent gain.

ARA Newmark’s Avery Klann, Hampton Beebe, Jonathan Senn, Dick Donnellan, Marc deBaptiste and Matt Scarola brokered the sale.

Senn said the seller, prior to closing, renovated the rental community and sold it 93 percent occupied.

“They completely re-did the interiors, bathrooms, kitchens and clubhouse,” Senn said. “It proves to the buying market there was demand for upgraded units that would achieve higher rent.”

The community, which opened in 1985, offers one- and two-bedroom apartments with monthly rents ranging between $1,235 to $1,435, according to Apartments.com. Senn said Abacus increased rents by about $200 on average a month.

Rent growth in South Florida is predicted to slow as the region’s occupancy rate dips. South Florida’s occupancy rate averaged 94.8 percent, down slightly from the previous quarter, according to Berkadia’s second quarter report. This year alone, nearly 13,500 new apartments will be delivered in South Florida, marking the fifth most active city in the country for multifamily construction, according to a report from RentCafe.

TIAA-CREF is a large pension fund investing for academics, researchers, government workers and others. It joins other institutional investors that are buying apartment complexes after a slow period in the market.

In late July, PGIM Real Estate bought a 340-unit apartment complex in Palm Beach Gardens for $118 million. The deal broke down to about $347,000 per unit. Even more recently, Bainbridge Companies bought a 488-unit apartment and townhouse-style rental development in Delray Beach for $102.5 million.

In Coconut Creek, Miami-based Bar Invest Group recently purchased a 192-unit apartment complex for $37 million.