Morgan Properties to pay $1.4b for apartment portfolio

Morgan Properties Inc. has agreed to pay $1.4 billion for 15 apartment properties with 6,696 units in the Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., areas, according to Real Estate Alert.

The portfolio consists of 6,696 units.

The Freddie Mac Multifamily 2019 Outlook reported that healthy performance in the multifamily market will continue into 2019. The report finds that rent growth and vacancies will again outperform historical averages, even as new supply remains elevated into 2020. Expectations are for total market originations to continue to rise, resulting in another record year.

“Even with continued growth in supply, we expect vacancy rates to remain below historical averages in 2019, and we see rent growth reaching 4 percent,” said Steve Guggenmos, Freddie Mac multifamily research and modeling vice president. “Along with demographic trends and the shift in consumer preferences toward urban areas, we examine the comparatively high cost of homeownership by market and that is another important factor that will continue to drive healthy performance in the multifamily market.”

Multifamily completions will remain high in 2019, but construction starts will finally fall, promising greater market balance in 2020, according to CBRE. The multifamily sector will continue to attract high levels of investment and debt capital, and workforce housing will remain an appealing investment strategy given its favorable supply/demand balance.