The company received $7.4 million under Fannie Mae's DUS loan product line to finance the acquisition of Lyon Homes Apartments, a 242-unit complex. "There is a strong need for this product in this market," Jeremy Frankel, director, in Arbor's Manhattan Beach, CA, lending office, tells GlobeSt.com. "This is not a luxury market; it is a working-class one and there is strong demand for this unit type." He says the acquiring party is a moderate sized manager that has been active in the area for a while.

Multifamily is Arbor's sweet spot, Frankel says, and the Washington, DC-area is a strong market. "We want multifamily properties in strong markets where the class of asset is in demand. The property that works wonderfully in Dundalk might not work somewhere else; in that scenario we wouldn't be interested." He says Arbor is currently looking at Class B and Class B multifamily projects in the area, "but not exclusively."

According to Delta Associates, average Class B apartment rents in the Washington area have increased to $1,225, up 6.8% for the year, while vacancy decreased by 1.9% during the same period.