Rosewood Realty Group has brokered the $101 million sale of a 339-unit apartment complex located on 30-acres in Trumbull, Connecticut in Fairfield County.
The new buyer of the “Royce at Trumbull” is Colony Hills Capital, a Massachusetts-based real estate investment firm that invests in value-add multifamily housing in growing markets. The purchase price is 23 percent more than the $82 million that sellers Sym Investments and Skywood Properties paid for the Fairfield County complex a little over a year ago.
Rosewood Realty Group’s President of National Sales Jonathan Brody represented both the sellers, Sym Investments and Skywood Properties and the buyer, Colony Hills.
“This sale is a good example that investors’ demand for some suburban multifamily assets remains strong despite rising interest rates,” added Brody.
The nearly 400,000-square-foot complex, at 100 Avalon Gates, was developed by the multifamily REIT AvalonBay Communities in 1997. It is one of the newer rental communities in Trumbull, which placed a temporary moratorium on multifamily development in 2019. Previous owner Paredim Partners renovated about half of the units before selling the property last year, according to Brody.
The complex consists of market-rate one-,two- and three-bedroom units, 99 percent of which are leased, Brody said. Monthly asking rents average $1,850.
“This was a great buy for Colony Hills because the current owners also did renovations that include: stainless steel appliances, new fixtures, stone counter tops, wood floors, painting all of which allowed them to get recent rent increases of about 25%,” added Brody.
Colony Hills’ multifamily portfolio consists of more than 30 properties and roughly 11,000 residential units, mostly concentrated in Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
The Trumbull property features outdoor amenity space, pool, lounge area, volley ball court and a new basketball court. Trumbull is located in between New Haven and Stamford, Connecticut.
“The development is beautifully situated in a suburban, green area of Trumbull, which attracts many commuters who work in nearby New Haven but live in Trumbull which make this asset more desirable,” added Brody, who pointed out that since there is a moratorium on new construction in Trumbull, “A property like this is unlikely to come on the market anytime soon.”
