Bascom Group Spends $72M on Las Vegas Apartment Portfolio

The Bascom Group has expanded its Las Vegas footprint with the purchase of The Spectra portfolio for $72 million. The three-property portfolio totals 390 units and includes Spectra at 4000, Spectra East, and Spectrum at Katie.

Two of the properties—Spectra at 4000 and Spectra East—are located in Spectra at 4000 and Spectra East Las Vegas, which has recently experienced a surge in growth. Spectrum at Katie, on the other hand, is near the Las Vegas Strip and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Bascom purchased the portfolio below market value and secured favorable financing through Bridge Investment Group, as a result there is significant upside. The investor plans to implement a value-add business plan. Bascom’s senior principal of operations Paul Diamond said the portfolio was well positioned to attract the mid-market renter.

Las Vegas has a lot of opportunity for value-add investment. A report last year from Atalyst Financial Group found that rents are rising fastest among the class-C and class-D properties in the market. Class-C and class-D apartments, called one and two star apartment product in the report, is leading the rent growth with 7.9% annual rent growth. The Las Vegas market overall has seen 5.3% annual rent growth, according to the report. It’s a good reason for apartment owners to enter the market.

Bascom has been one of the most active buyers in the Las Vegas market since 2013. During that time, the firm has acquired 29 apartment properties totaling 8,915 units valued a $1.2 billion. It has completed the business plan 19 properties, or a total of 5,798 units with a combined sales price of $1 billion.

Bascom isn’t the only active investor in the market. There have been a handful of noteworthy deals in the last 12 months. Among the most recent, Keller Investment Properties acquired Tuscan Highlands, a 304-unit new construction apartment community in the greater Las Vegas area, for $115 million from Watt Cos. Watt Cos. has been operating in the Las Vegas market since the 1940s. The company purchased the 15-acre land site for Tuscan Highlands in 2015, and it began construction in 2018.

Curt Allsop and Angela Bates with Newmark brokered the Spectra portfolio transaction on behalf of Bascom, while Charles Halladay, Jamie Kline, and Annie Rice with JLL Capital Markets secured the debt.