R. Blake Johnson Jr. LLC, a Honolulu-based real estate investor, has picked up $4.7 million for the Veranda Apartments, a 156-unit complex at 5704 W. Thomas Rd. He also is selling Phoenix's Landpoint, a 100-unit apartment complex at 75th Avenue south of Cactus Road for $4 million. That deal is expected to close at the end of June, Todd Braun, a multifamily specialist with CB Richard Ellis and broker on the Veranda sale, tells GlobeSt.com. According to Braun, Johnson intends to take the proceeds to buy a hotel in Washington state.

Figtree Apartments LLP, a Phoenix-based investment group, is the Veranda's buyer. That group recently has sold the Figtree Apartments in a 1030 exchange for the Veranda. The complex's purchase price equates to more than $30,128 per unit and about $50 per sf. Each unit averages about 609 sf. Last year, the average price paid for 15-year-old apartments or older had been about $48,780 per unit or $57.74 per sf.

Investing in an apartment complex in that area of the Valley makes good sense, Braun says. With the addition of the Loop 101, which connects Interstate 10 with Interstate 17, it's easier to get around and an increasing number of companies are opening operations in the West Valley. "That's a big positive," he says. "You throw all of that together and there are a lot of reasons why people are going to live out there."

Because much of that area's population is blue collar, there are some risks with owning apartment projects, which has kept a cap on new construction. "You have very little threat of new construction because rents aren't at a level to support new development," Braun says. The Veranda is in the Maryvale section of town, about 10 miles west of the downtown.