LYNN, MA-Resource Capital Group has paid $4.5 million for 132 Common St., a 72-unit apartment complex located near the city's downtown district. Somerville-based RCG owns several multifamily assets in Boston and surrounding communities.

"They are very active in the area," says NAI Hunneman Commercial Co. EVP Carl Christie, who represented the seller in the negotiations along with Hunneman EVP Robert Tito and also procured the buyer. Officials at RCG did not respond to inquiries by deadline, but one source placed the cap rate on the sale at 8.5%, substantially higher than the figure typically seen for multifamily assets in Greater Boston. While Christie would not discuss specifics, he says the real estate was "priced right." On a per-unit basis, RCG paid $62,500 per apartment for the South Common Apartments, which consists of four structures overlooking the Lynn Commons.

A specialist in selling multifamily properties, with dozens of transactions completed in the past year, Christie says cap rates for such real estate has been running in the 5% to 6% range, including two pending deals in suburban Boston that seem destined for 5.5% cap rates, plus a 10-unit apartment on Beacon Hill changing hands at the 6% level.

Christie has been at the forefront of an extended period of strong multifamily sales in Massachusetts during the past three years, but the slowdown of the residential sector and easing of interest from condo converters has not dampened investment sales activity, he says. "It's quite solid," says Christie, who is involved in one pending deal that will approach $18 million when completed. The broker would not identify the deal, but says it helps underscore the vibrancy of the sector at present.