Buying, selling and operating apartments in Portland

Individual Portland Apartment Sales >$450K – August 2013 + 1H2013 Summary | 26 September 2013

<<<Aug13vsAug12_PortlandAptSales>>>

RIGHT-CLICK ABOVE LINK (and SAVE LINK AS) TO DOWNLOAD THE DETAILED REPORT

Attached is a list of individual Portland-area sales of apartment complexes greater than $450,000 in August 2013.  Included are $/unit, $/sqft , unit count, year built and Cap Rate (as reported) and a comparison to August 2012 averages.

2013 First Half Summary and Projections:

2013 should be about the same volume as 2012 with the exception of fewer large complex sales.

Future directions will be determined by two things:

1) Interest rates – Are gradually increasing which means Cap Rates usually track.

2) Rents – For the next year, we will be hitting a ceiling in rent increases, however demand should stay steady.  This means owners need to focus on two things:

a. Getting/keeping good tenants – Even if this means waiting longer on vacancies.  If you’ve spent money making your apartments better do advertise this.

b. Managing expenses – The rise in utility rates is inexorable for now, especially water since most water is from the City of Portland which does not need regulatory approval for rate increases.  While bill-backs are popular, sub-metering is an option you may want to consider since it encourages tenants to use less water as opposed to a flat fee.

Side note for apartment owners – The Oregon legislature has passed a bill which will not allow a landlord to base tenant acceptance on whether they use an individual Section 8 voucher for rent payment.  Details are at:

http://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2013/HB2639/

This will become effective 1 Jul 2014.

If you’d like more information on:

– Details/background on individual sales in the report, or

– a Free copy of our 80-page book – Buying, Selling and Operating Apartments Using Financial Analysis

Please contact me:

Steve Morris – Senior Advisor Multi-Units
Sperry Van Ness – Bluestone & Hockley
steve.morris@svn.com  / (503) 970-4593