"The guys who bought are a group that specialize in student housing," Brecher tells GlobeSt.com. "They don't own anything else in Philadelphia and they felt this was a good product to start with."
The actual partnership the buyers belong to was not released. The buyers are not a well-known group, but Brecher says, "they do have some equity and institutional investors."
The historic Victorian-era apartment building features studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in close proximity to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, which makes the Courts popular for student housing, but also for professionals. "This is in University City, this is one of the luxury rentals in that area. It's mostly students. The area is a very desirable area, not just for students, but this particular property is a renovated landmark," says Brecher. "It's just a beautiful and unique property."
All the units are rentals, and the building is 95% filled, which represents occupancy rates, according to Brecher. Rents start at $980 for studios and go up to $2,450 for two bedrooms.
"These rents are average for this type of product. It's actually a little low below what this type of product is getting. There aren't that many buildings that are of this quality, but the buildings that are of this quality, in fact, are getting higher rents," says Brecher. "It's a very well-located property with rents continuing to skyrocket."
According to Brecher, the owner sold because "he was getting a premium price for a property he bought a number of years before. He was able to realize a substantial profit in a short amount of time…to realize that, you have to leave something on the table for the next guy."
The Courts feature original architecture, a courtyard and 24 hour security. The new owners plan on doing capital improvements, which haven't been done since the late '80s or early '90s, according to Brecher.
"They plan on doing a whole host of upgrades to the property and bring it up a notch as well," says Brecher.
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