Brian Moulder, investment advisor with Atlanta-based Southeast Apartment Partners who represented both sides in the deal, says plenty of investors are looking at Jacksonville and other parts of Florida for distressed properties such as Palisades, which was built in 1973 and held by Bridge Partners for the past five years. "There are phenomenal opportunities right now," Moulder tells GlobeSt.com.

In this instance, an all-cash deal allowed for closing within a week, as opposed to going under contract for a longer period, Moulder says. "The seller puts a lot of weight on ability to close," he says. "The days of waiting for financing to come through are over. Cash is king and you've either got it or you don't."

Moulder notes that plenty of cash appears to be coming off the sidelines now, particularly from investors who capitalized on the post-Resolution Trust Corp. period in the early 1990s but have been laying low during this decade's run-up in property values. Earlier this year, he represented Bridge Partners in the sale of another nearby apartment complex, now called Arbor Place, with 206 units for $4.4 million, or $22,000 per unit.