"It's (San Antonio) not a Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston or Austin," Will Balthrope, Grubb & Ellis Co. associate. Balthrope is a native of San Antonio and considered a leading specialist for his hometown although he's based in Dallas.

Slower rent growth than is found in San Antonio's sister metropolises and portfolio realignments by 90% of the city's institutional owners are pushing the brisk trading, Balthrope tells GlobeSt.com. Chicago-based Equity Residential Properties Trust has three properties on the market and Richmond, VA-based United Dominion has 11. In all, San Antonio has more than 20 class B complexes, totaling 5,000 units, up for grabs. It's been nearly three years since the market was this active in the Alamo City.

San Antonio's changing investment persona has been a boon for Balthrope and his partner, Don Ostroff, first vice president. This year alone, the team's marketed 10 class B properties. Of those, most have sold or are under contract. Just a couple remains unspoken for in the heyday of trade in a market that supports about 50,000 class B units of the total 100,000-unit inventory. "It's a good niche in San Antonio," says Balthrope. The buy-sell trend has spiked the average per unit cost $5,000 in the past year. The $35,000 per unit selling price is now at an all-time high, says Balthrope.