Two investors – one from Maryland and the other from Canada – have bought a pair of North Texas apartment communities. Institutional Property Advisors brokered both apartment deals. Capreit, a real estate investment trust based in Rockville, MD, bought the 204-unit Valley Trails apartments in Irving’s Valley Ranch community. The property was developed in 1995 and is substantially leased. Institutional Property Advisors executive director Will Balthrope brokered the sale along with Drew Kile and Spencer Hurst and Jeff Kunitz of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. Balthrope said that Capreit is a nationwide investor that “is entering Texas for the first time with this D-FW apartment acquisition.” The second property that just sold is the Dry Creek Ranch apartments, located in the town of Northlake on Interstate 35W, north of Alliance Airport. Dry Creek Ranch has 288 apartments and opened in 2007. Calgary-based Western Securities Ltd bought the apartments from a partnership between Dallas-based SWBC Real Estate LLC and Birmingham-based Harbert Management Corp. The apartments were 95 percent leased when sold. “The property went under contract just two weeks into marketing, and the buyer closed the transaction in just 45 days,” Balthrope said. “We are seeing strong demand for suburban assets in good locations near job centers, and both of these assets were highly sought after in a competitive bid process.” Balthrope and Kile brokered the Dry Creek Ranch sale with Western Securities’ Marc Footlik.
