San Diego Investor Lands 'Resilient' Tech-Hub Apartments
Vanamore Inc. says pricing dislocations in the multi-family market helped smooth the way for its first acquisition in the Portland, Oregon area: the 32-unit Blanton Commons.
BEAVERTON, OR-Real Estate investor and operator Vanamor Inc. has some almost brand new apartments on its hands.
The San Diego-based company this week announced the acquisition of Blanton Commons, a 32-unit apartment community located here. Development was just completed in 2018.
Situated in suburban Portland between Nike’s world headquarters and Intel’s Aloha campus, Blanton Commons offers access to major employment centers plus bus, light rail and commuter rail. Other nearby tech companies include Airbnb, Nvidia and Salesforce.com. The apartment community also includes a historic single-family home known as M.E. Blanton House.
“As we have already seen through the resiliency of the property during the pandemic, Blanton Commons is not only insulated from downward pressures but also well-positioned to capitalize on future growth trends,” Vanamor Principal and CEO Bobby Larsen said.
Larsen said multifamily units are a sweet spot of the commercial real estate market, and some pricing dislocations in the segment helped smooth the way for the transaction. Buyers are looking for 20 to 30 percent reductions, which Larsen said he considered unreasonable. But sellers are recognizing that reductions of perhaps 5 to 10 percent are in order.
Larsen said it’s a little unusual now to find new construction on the market—or any construction, due to low volumes overall. But he expects that to change “as developers start to look to unload their properties.”
Vanamor is a private company whose leaders say they have acquired over 31,000 unites worth $6 billion during their careers. Blanton Commons marks the privately owned company’s first acquisition in the Portland metro, though it holds interests via joint ventures in the area.
The company is targeting further acquisitions in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, California, Texas, Florida, Colorado, and Nevada. The company focuses on long-term, moderately leveraged opportunities that deliver outsized market returns, and says it is actively looking to partner with new investors.