"It offers some good upside for the buyer," says Biria St. John of Cushman & Wakefield's capital markets group in Boston, whose team negotiated the agreement on behalf of the seller, an affiliate of Dunphy Management Corp. of Quincy. That firm had owned Union Square Apartments since purchasing the asset for $7 million in 2003. C&W also procured the buyer in the latest transaction. An executive director whose specialty is multifamily sales, St. John handled the assignment along with executive director Simon Butler and associate Chris Sower.

Dunphy principal Colm Dunphy tells GlobeSt.com that the sale came about largely from a desire to concentrate his firm's holdings closer to its base in Boston and Quincy. "The deal worked out well for us," says Dunphy, citing a combination of the marketing effort and a resilient multifamily sector that remains one of the few bright spots in the difficult investment-sales climate.

"The rental market has been pretty good," Dunphy says, reporting healthy rental rates and an occupancy in his portfolio close to 100%. Dunphy Management will be eyeing fresh opportunities near the Boston urban core, adds the firm's founder, who has been active regionally for more than 20 years.