(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)

BALTIMORE-A 12-property, 402-unit portfolio in the city's northwest sector has traded for $15 million or an average of $37,313 per unit. The locally based Kaymar/NRM Properties has sold the class C portfolio to a local investor in two transactions.

The portfolio required just the right buyer because two properties need substantial renovation, according to Rick Struse, a broker with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. in Washington, DC. "It needed someone who could operate a portfolio of that size while maintaining the others buildings." He and Marcus DC brokers Cullen O'Grady and Joe Orji brokered the deal.

The 12 properties are located within a two-mile radius of the intersection of Liberty Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard. The complexes range from four to 136 units.

Struse says the portfolio closed in two sittings, with the last two deeds just now rolling. Ten properties, totaling 212 units, closed July 12--a package of upgraded properties with occupancy averaging 94%.

That's not the case with the last two of the Kaymar/NRM Properties' portfolio. The 190 units need substantial renovation plus there are about 20% vacant, according to the brokers.

O'Grady doesn't know how much will be spent, but he tells GlobeSt.com that the upgrades are largely cosmetic although extensive. Also, it is unclear, at least to the brokers at Marcus & Millichap, what the buyer will do now that the sale is closed. "It is possible the buyer will sell off some of the units while maintaining the ones that have a higher vacancy," Struse says.

A comparable unit in the submarket would trade for $55,000 and a cap rate of 8%, according to O'Grady. The selling price reflected the upgrades that would have to be made.

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Erika Morphy

Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.