Burlingame Multifamily Market Pick-Up Shows in $26M Trade

A 76-unit apartment complex near downtown Burlingame has sold for just over $26.3 million after more than a year on the market.

The price works out to just under $350,000 per unit.

Located on two adjacent parcels comprising nearly an acre at 1239 Oak Grove and 1404 Floribunda, the 1958 property has been owned by Peninsula Income Property Investments since at least the 1990s, according to public records. Herbert Humber is one of the managers, according to state records. Humber Realty also owns and manages the 40-unit Mateo Garden Apartments in San Mateo; The Sands, a 17-unit complex in Chico; commercial properties in Burlingame and Chico; and vacation rentals in Mexico and Hawaii, according to the company’s website.

The property first listed in April 2023 for $34.2 million but dropped its price to $30.4 million in June that year. It was pending as of late December last year, according to Redfin, but did not close until Sept. 19. Listing agent Robert Johnson of Marcus & Millichap did not reply to a request for comment on the sale, but the listing notes mention a mix of studios and one bedrooms, and common amenities like on-site laundry, a picnic area and 73 assigned carport parking spaces.

The buyer was Oak Grove Floribunda LLC, whose manager is listed as Zach Trailer in state records. Trailer is a Compass agent and Palo Alto native who specializes in luxury Peninsula single-family sales, according to his website. He has previously owned smaller rental properties in Palo Alto, according to public records.

Trailer declined to comment on the purchase. He was represented in the sale by Marcus & Millichap agent Cole Simpson.

Investor activity in San Mateo County has focused mostly on Burlingame as well as further south in Redwood City-Menlo Park, according to a second-quarter Marcus & Millichap report. More complexes in those markets changed hands over the previous four quarters than in the prior four-quarter term.

The multifamily vacancy rate for the San Francisco Metro, which includes San Mateo, was predicted to fall to 5.3 percent by year-end, which brings it in line with 2019 figures, according to the report.

Several submarkets in both counties logged triple-digit-basis-point vacancy rate drops over the past year. The drop was seen across all types of apartments. But, while the office market continues to experience a flight to quality, vacancy rates were actually lower in Class C apartment units than more expensive Class A buildings, indicating that renters are feeling the bite of higher rents.

San Francisco rents are up just under 4 percent year over year in August, to $3,160 a month for the median one-bedroom, according to Zumper data. On the Peninsula, Menlo Park rents are up 2.8 percent to $2,930 for a median one-bedroom, while San Mateo rents are down 8.5 percent to $2,700.

The rental listing site shows that Santa Clara County has the Bay Area’s hottest rental markets, with Mountain View the top market at $3,690 per month for a median one-bedroom and the city of Santa Clara rising the fastest at 12.3 percent year over year to hit a median of $3,280 in August.