Two years ago, Harbor Group International acquired a 9,600-unit apartment portfolio, paying $1.8 billion for properties across the East Coast and in Chicago.
Now, the Virginia-based real estate investment firm has gone even bigger. Harbor has closed on one of the largest apartment portfolio deals ever, paying $1.85 billion for 13,243 units, most of them across the South and Southwest.
The portfolio encompasses 36 properties in eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.
The seller was Aragon Holdings. The deal accounted for most of Aragon’s $2 billion sale of its entire apartment portfolio, consisting of 15,000 units across the U.S.
The acquisition highlights increased investor demand for multifamily properties, especially in the South where occupancy rates remain high and the population is growing.
“Harbor Group targets value-add opportunities, making this an ideal transaction for both firms,” Larison Clark, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Aragon, said in a statement on the deal.
Aragon assembled the portfolio over the last decade. The properties average about 350 units each, comprised of two- and three-story buildings in suburban areas.
Newmark Knight Frank represented the seller in the sale and the buyer for the debt financing.
Harbor, led by CEO Jordan Slone, has a portfolio of assets valued at $12.5 billion, according to a release.