Multi-unit residential properties appear to be a hot ticket in the commercial real estate market.
In a deal that closed in mid-May, 63 townhouse apartment units in five locations in York County were sold to an undisclosed buyer by A&S Apartments for $4.23 million.
The units are located near each other in Hollis, at 277 Little Falls Road, 98 Bean St., 840 Hollis Road, 783 Hollis Road and 270 Bar Mills Road.
Thomas Gadbois and David Jones of F.O. Bailey Real Estate brokered the deal.
A&S Apartments is owned by Lloyd and April Hardy, who built the properties in the 1980s and were ready to retire, said Jones.
The apartments were designed to be safe, well-maintained, clean and affordable, according to the A&S website. The units are two-bedroom townhouses with one bath and most complexes offer coin-op laundry onsite. All units are wired for cable TV.
The portfolio saw quite a bit of interest and moved quickly.
“We had several buyers interested,” he said.
Marketing started mid-December and the portfolio went under contract in January.
“It’s easier when you have groupings of buildings as opposed to properties scattered all over the place,” Jones said. “It’s a nice, clean package, where the units are mostly identical to each other.”
The townhouses have been well-maintained and are fully occupied, he said.
Hollis, which is about 20 miles from Portland and 40 minutes drive, is attracting increased interest as a residential community, Jones said.
“We’re seeing a lot more people moving to outskirts because of the prices in Portland,” he said. “Hollis is a small town but it’s growing. It’s a bedroom community, but it’s close to Portland. So it’s convenient. If you’re working in the city, it’s a good choice.”
Last November, Jones and Gadbois brokered a similar transaction of 106 apartment units in 21 different buildings in Sanford and Springvale, which sold for $4 million after the two reached out privately to potential buyers.
“So people are looking for packages like that,” Jones noted.
The averaged price per unit of the Hollis properties is $67,000. That compares with the $37,000 price per unit of the Sanford/Springvale properties.
“It was a good price,” Jones said of the Hollis deal. “It’s in keeping with the market.”
Large Falmouth sale
In an off-market transaction, Gadbois and Jones also recently brokered what they said was the second-biggest residential sale in Falmouth, at 153 Foreside Road. The property sold for $5.2 million, in a deal that closed June 4.
“It’s a spectacular property in the heart of Falmouth on the oceanfront,” Jones said.
The 3.2-acre property includes a 9,299-square-foot house with seven bedrooms and nine baths, built in 1984, and a boathouse, deep-water anchorage, barn and tennis courts.
“Not everyone can afford to buy that type of home,” said Jones. “But we had a client in mind who had a history of buying nice properties and was looking to be in Falmouth. So we made the phone call and they fell in love with it.”
