STRATUS PROPERTIES SELLS THE
SAINT MARY LUXURY APARTMENTS FOR A RECORD $250,000/UNIT IN AUSTIN
Stratus Properties in Austin, Texas has sold The Saint Mary, a 240-unit luxury contemporary garden-style apartment complex, for a record $250,000/unit. The high-end building, located in the Circle C community in Austin, went for a total of $60,000 million in January 2021.
According to reports from Stratus, the building was 85% occupied at the time of sale. After closing costs, fees and payment of the construction loan, the company generated an estimated amount of roughly $34 million in profits from the sale. Based on the carrying value of the property contributed to the project, the company made an IRR of 62%. This resulted in an equity multiple of 3.55x.
Stratus Properties officially sold the apartment complex on behalf of The Saint Mary LP, its subsidiary. It was sold to private real estate equity manager Velocis. Stratus Properties was represented by Berkadia (a marketing firm) and as far as we know, the broker for Velocis has not been disclosed. The Saint Mary will be operated by Austin-based Wildhorn Capital, on behalf of Velocis.
Based on info from Apartments.com, rents at the Saint Mary range from $1,385 per month to $2,200 per month for 1-2 bedroom units.
A RECORD-BREAKING SALE
According to William H. Armstrong III, the President, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Stratus, this sale has broken local price records for this type of property.
In a press release, Armstrong stated that the per unit sales price for The Saint Mary is the highest ever recorded for traditional surface-parked, garden-style apartment buildings in the Austin area.
This price record comes at the end of a three-year long process of financing the property, construction, and the eventual leasing and sale. Stratus Properties broke ground on The Saint Mary in June 2018 and the community was ready to open in December 2019. It’s impressive that Stratus was able to oversee construction, expedite the lease-up and close the sale even during a pandemic.
ABOUT THE SAINT MARY
The Saint Mary is a luxury one and two bedroom apartment property. It was designed to appeal to the technology-based workforce in Southwest Austin, offering a stylish and contemporary place to live. The apartments are designed in a sleek and modern style and building amenities include a resort-style infinity pool, a pet park, an outdoor kitchen with a wet bar and a fitness center.
With white quartz countertops, polished concrete floors and stainless steel appliances, these gorgeous apartments feel sleek, clean and modern. They are designed with large open spaces and plenty of natural light, to take full advantage of the Austin sunshine. They are equipped with all the modern features, including high speed WiFi, LED recessed lighting and walk-in showers.
The Saint Mary has an ideal location, close to schools and other amenities. It is located right next to Gorzycki Middle School and close to Seton Southwest Hospital, at the edge of Austin’s Full Purpose Jurisdiction. It’s also close to great spots for recreating and hiking, including the Slaughter Creek Trail and the Barton Creek Green Belt. Plus, it’s nearby to local landmarks such as the Alamo Drafthouse and Torchy’s Tacos.
The property itself is not located in an Opportunity Zone, or any flood hazard areas. The property was completed in July 2019, under Permit No. 2015-115202 SP. You can see the location as displayed on the FuseGIS map here:
You can also see plenty of information on the map about the property and the zone it is located in.
The project was approved for the Austin Energy Green Building Program and construction commenced in June 2018. After it was completed in December of 2019, the first tenants moved into their new homes by July of 2019.
ABOUT STRATUS PROPERTIES
Stratus Properties is based in Austin and is a real estate company that specialises mostly in the acquisition, entitlement, management, development, sale and operation of hotel, commercial, entertainment and residential real estate properties.
They generate revenues from sales of developed properties, as well as from rental income and the revenues and sales of their developed properties.
FUSEGIS: PROVIDING ESSENTIAL INFO FOR APPRAISERS AND BROKERS
Although FuseGIS was not used in this particular sale, the Saint Mary sale is a great example of how using FuseGIS can transform real estate.
The property details offered by FuseGIS were used to underwrite the sale as a comp for an appraisal. Having all this information available about a property is incredibly helpful for appraisers, as it allows them to have a clearer and more complete understanding of all aspects of the location.
This is one of the main strengths of FuseGIS and why it is such a versatile tool. The ability to access such a wealth of information all in one place makes appraising properties so much easier. Appraisers often need to spend hours investigating multiple websites to find the information they need about each property. If an appraiser is able to provide their client with an amazing level of detail, they will be able to make a more accurate valuation of the property.
Knowing this information about properties in the area is also useful for brokers. They will be able to find the info quickly and analyze other properties that Stratus owns.
One of the most challenging aspects of the job of a broker is researching contacts and the properties associated with them. The broker needs to be able to find sales and lease information and filter searches by ownership or parties involved. FuseGIS enables them to do this, while also layering information such as owner, zoning and floodplain across multiple jurisdictions across an MSA.
