New York-based Phoenix Realty Group has acquired the Bay Pointe Apartments, a 269-unit rental community in south Miami-Dade County, for $64.8 million. The purchase adds a recently completed property to Phoenix’s South Florida portfolio and signals continued investor interest in the region’s multifamily market despite elevated borrowing costs and persistent new-apartment supply.
Key takeaways
- Bay Pointe Apartments sold for $64.8 million, or about $240,892 per unit.
- The seven-story, 269-unit property was completed in 2024.
- Phoenix Realty assumed a $55.2 million loan tied to the complex.
- South Florida multifamily sales increased 19.4% year over year in the first half of the year.
The transaction reflects a gradual improvement in South Florida’s apartment investment market. However, industry observers continue to caution that higher interest rates, construction costs and a large pipeline of new units could limit the pace of recovery.
Details of the Bay Pointe transaction
Phoenix purchased the property at 18422 Homestead Avenue from an entity connected to Pride Homes by Garco, according to property records and real estate data. The deal values each apartment at approximately $240,892, while Phoenix assumed the seller’s $55.2 million financing from Corebridge Institutional Investments.
Built on 2.4 acres, the seven-story community includes 134 one-bedroom apartments, 129 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units. The property also contains about 3,700 square feet of retail space, giving the investment a small commercial component alongside its residential income.
Phoenix expands its South Florida presence
Led by Keith Rosenthal and Ron Orgel, Phoenix Realty has invested in South Florida multifamily properties for more than a decade. Its previous acquisitions include a 300-unit Broward County apartment complex purchased for $52.7 million in 2015 and a 408-unit, 17-acre North Lauderdale property acquired for $69.7 million in 2018.
In 2022, Phoenix partnered with Park Row Equity Partners and other New York-based investment groups to buy the 812-unit Park Colony Apartments in Hollywood for $69.5 million. The Bay Pointe purchase continues the firm’s strategy of building exposure to rental housing in the region.
Multifamily market shows signs of recovery
South Florida multifamily transactions totaled $2.5 billion during the first half of the year, up 19.4% from the same period a year earlier, according to Avison Young. Some of that activity may reflect deals that were negotiated late last year and closed during the current reporting period, making the increase an imperfect measure of market momentum.
Rental demand has also begun to catch up with new supply. In the 12 months through the second quarter, the region recorded 13,774 new leases compared with 12,751 completed units, based on CoStar Group data. That improvement follows several years of oversupply that pressured landlords and slowed leasing.
New supply remains a concern
The market’s recent balance could be tested again: nearly 28,000 apartments are under construction, with many expected to open late next year. A renewed wave of deliveries could temper rent growth and increase competition among owners, even as investment activity improves.
Recent transactions elsewhere in the region include Fairfield Residential’s $208 million purchase of the 812-unit Portofino Place Apartments in West Palm Beach and Harbor Group International’s $109 million acquisition of the more than 500-unit Emerald Palms in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
Sources
- Pride Homes by Garco Sells Miami Rentals to Phoenix Realty, The Real Deal.