Dasmen Residential Expands Florida Foothold With $102M Apartment Portfolio Buy

Dasmen Residential has expanded its presence in the Florida market with the purchase of a five-property apartment portfolio in Tampa and Orlando. Dasmen purchased the portfolio for $102 million, along with a $15 million equity investment raised through the CrowdStreet Marketplace.

This acquisition represents an expansion into the Florida market for the New York-based investor. Prior to his purchase, Dasmen owned only a single apartment property in the Florida market. “This portfolio acquisition marks a significant expansion into Florida for our company. We are confident that Orlando and Tampa will rebound better than ever as we emerge from the COVID situation. This was our first time raising equity from individual investors online,” Michael Katz, CEO of Dasmen Residential,” said in a statement about the purchase.

Dasmen purchased the portfolio from Amzak Capital Management and The Focus Group. The five-property portfolio totals 1,011 units and is 92% occupied. The investor plans to execute a value-add business plan on the properties, upgrading individual units and common areas to drive rents.

The opportunity was tremendously popular on the CrowdStreet platform. The offering closed oversubscribed at nearly $23 million in less than 18 hours. More than 300 investors contributed to the capital raise. In addition to the CrowdStreet funding, Dasmen funded the acquisition with $3.3 million of sponsor co-investment, $76.4 million senior loan from Freddie Mac, serviced by Greystone.

Tampa and Orlando are both on CrowdStreet’s list of the top investment markets for multifamily in 2021. The Florida market in general has seen increased investment during the pandemic. For example, EDEN Multifamily principals Jay Jacobson and Jay Massirman and America’s Capital Partners principal Sergio Socolsky launched horizontal apartment development firm EDEN Living in South Florida. The new firm plans to develop one-story living environments and two-story townhomes in some locations with private, exterior living space, courtyards and private landscaped backyards.

Investors from outside of the state are expanding their presence in Florida as well. New York-based developer Time Century Holdings entered the Miami market to transform the Metro Mall into a luxury jewelry center. The firm is working with architect Kobi Karp on the project to create a destination for “luxury jewelry retailers, wholesalers, consumers and watch enthusiasts.” While this isn’t a multifamily project, it is an example of the influx of capital into the market.