The Southwest Florida multifamily market also experienced strong sales. In that area, 2,880 units in nine properties traded hands for a combined $242 million in the second quarter. The average price per unit was lower than the state average, at $84,065.South Florida was also home to the biggest sale of the quarter, based on total sales price. Condo converter Crescent Heights acquired the 1,342-unit, 94%-occupied Mirador rental complex in Miami Beach for $190 million, or $141,579 per unit.Southeast Florida also had the sale with the highest price-per-unit. The 180-unit Centergate Aventura in Miami-Dade County sold for $222,222 per unit, or a total of $40 million. Following that property was the 703-unit Bay Club Tower, also in Miami-Dade County, which sold for $202,702 per unit, or $142.5 million.Also, according to the report, four out of five second-quarter acquisitions by institutional buyers occurred in South Florida. Two of these were in the Southeast region, Reserve at Ibis Apartments and Estates at Wellington Green, both in Palm Beach County. The other two were in the Southwest region, Madison at Brantley Pines and Madison at the Ashlar in Lee County.

Driver says the activity by institutional buyers in South Florida is driven by the desire for properties there. "If you were to ask the top institutions in the country, I think nearly all of them" are interested in the South Florida market, he says. "It's a long-term market with a lot of growth and potential. The problem is, they've been competing with the converters."

Many times, he notes, "the converters have been winning." But in some cases, such as with non-conversion-type assets, institutions are purchasing the assets. "Institutions are out there. They're being very aggressive for A assets in South Florida."