On behalf of Hamilton Zane & Co., Bentley sold the 240-unit Villas at Painted Desert Apartments at 2851 South Decatur Blvd. for $20.4 million. The new owner of the class B apartment property is the Varva family, which was completing an IRS 1031 exchange. The Varva family assumed a $9-million loan on the property and put up the remainder in cash. Mainly due to the financing, which can't be paid off for two years, the capitalization rate on the investment is 5.9%, Bentley says.

The recent trend in the Las Vegas multifamily market has been the rise and fall of the condo conversion activity. Since 2003, 81 apartment properties accounting for over 21,000 units have been taken off the market, causing a steady drop in vacancy rates. In response, over the past five quarters, permits have been issued for more than 10,000 multifamily units. Deliveries during the same period have totaled just 2,000 units, however, while Vegas' well-known population growth has continued, causing rents to rise rapidly.

In October, Hendricks & Partners reported that the apartment operations market in Las Vegas has slowed from one of rapid rent growth to one of steady rent growth. "It would not be unheard of to see annual 3% to 5% average rental growth rates over the next five years," states the report.