LOS ALTOS, CA-In a series of transactions that spotlight both the scarcity and high value of multifamily buildings in Silicon Valley, IEC of Los Altos, CA has spent $12.5 million for three small rental complexes in Santa Clara and Redwood City.

The sellers were all private families, each of which had owned its property for decades, according to IEC president Marshall Boyd. The most recent deal to close is the 30-unit Jefferson Apartments in Redwood City, for which the buyer paid $160,000 per unit. The Redwood City units are located across the street from a Whole Foods supermarket and two blocks away from the Redwood city commuter rail station.

In the past 30 days, IEC has closed on the 30-unit Agate Apartments in Santa Clara for $135,000 per unit, which Boyd described as “very reasonable for rental units in Silicon Valley.” An adjoining property, the 26-unit Redwood Grove, also in Santa Clara, sold to IEC for $143,000 per unit. Both complexes are located near the Lawrence commuter rail station.

“These are value-added deals that haven’t seen the market for a long time, and are very hard to find in Silicon Valley,” says Boyd. Each of the complexes has some deferred maintenance. “The opportunity for improvement is there, and when the time is right, they will do well,” says Boyd. For the time being, however, IEC has no immediately plans for major capital outlays on the buildings, according to Boyd.

Although the complexes are small by institutional standards, Boyd says are being closely tracked by the  multifamily industry, because rental complexes are comparatively rare in a housing market that is one of the most expensive in the country. In the third quarter, the Silicon Valley apartment market reported occupancy of 96.9%, while asking rents averaged $1,595, according to REIS Reports.