CHICAGO—Investors across the country have been pouring money into rental apartments and some owners have reaped surprising returns. Just last week, Washington, DC-based ASB Real Estate Investments sold the 174-unit, Elaine Place apartment portfolio in Chicago, located just blocks from Wrigley Field, for $50.5 million to Woodbury, NY-based CLK Properties. According to Cook County property records, the company, in a joint venture with Marc Realty/Chicago Apartment Finders, purchased the collection in late 2012 for just $28.5 million.

At the time, the venture had considered the nine three-story brick buildings, most of which are on the 3400 block of N. Elaine Place, a long-term investment, but “ultimately the unbelievable capital markets resulted in a much stronger offer than we anticipated,” Jim Darcey, ASB's managing director for capital investments, tells GlobeSt.com.

“We just thought this was a really strong number, especially for a class B property,” he says. “It traded like it was a class A.” ASB invests in major urban markets across the country and manages the ASB Allegiance Fund, a $5 billion core investment vehicle. Its multifamily investments are mostly in class A properties, so Elaine Place “was for us a unique asset.”