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WASHINGTON, DC-Investors continue to focus on opportunities in class B multifamily units in the area, drawn by low vacancy rates and a growing spread differential in rents with class A facilities, according to the latest research by Delta Associates.

Vice president Grant Montgomery tells GlobeSt.com that a trend among investors is to acquire class B and class C units, renovate and reposition them--even if only slightly--and then raise rents. It is a typical strategy of course, but is particularly well suited to the DC market's current environment. "Even after the new owners raise rents it is still seen as a bargain by renters," he says.

According to Montgomery there are 19,000 class B units under renovation right now. Through August, there have been a total of 34 sales in this category--29 class B garden apartment trades and one high rise--trading at an average price of $123,427 per unit. That is nearly 11% higher than the average unit price realized during the same period last year, when 24 class B garden sales were recorded, according to the report. In the class A category, by contrast, there have been 11 garden apartment sales and one high rise trade.