The 270-unit Camelback Cove Apartments, situated at 4802 N. 12th St., brings more than $9.6 million or 94% of the listing price. The Yuma property, the 176-unit River Park Apartments at 2575 W. 24th St., pulls about $7.8 million or 97 1/2% of what the seller wanted.

Michael Hubl, Marcus & Millichap investment associate in Phoenix, says neither deal closed quickly. Camelback Cove was in escrow for five months and River Park, six months. "They were the perfect buyers, the perfect sellers, but there were a lot of bridges to cross," he says, skipping the intricacies of the holdups. "Both had unique situations."

Hubl and Peter Katz, a Marcus & Millichap vice president of investments, handled both sides of the transactions in the near back-to-back deals. The market is so hot that Camelback, a 1981 vintage, attracted 14 offers from eight bidders and forced a best and final offer twice from the field of would-be buyers. River Park, built in 1986, caught the attention of seven bidders.

Scottsdale investors P.B. Bell and Richard Berry bought the 95%-occupied Central Phoenix complex under the entity of Camelback Cove LLC from Bottom & Associates, the appointed receiver manager by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The property was owned for four years by Camelback Cove Apartments LP of New Westminster, British Columbia, which received $35,463 per unit in the sale.

River Park's buyer was Richard Hayden, manager of Magnosound LLC of Lake Oswego, OR. He paid $44,034 per unit to Mark and Marsha Paskin of Solara Beach, CA. The couple bought the Yuma holding in 1996. The 98%-occupied River Park, categorized as a resort-type property with 21 units per acre, is considered one of the nicest complexes in Yuma, says Hubl.