Another Austin apartment complex sells as rental market stays hot
A Houston-based real estate company has purchased a 279-unit apartment complex in North Austin, adding to a recent string of apartment complex sales in the Austin market.
The Barvin Group, a privately held real estate investment and service company, is buying Aura on Lamar, five-story complex at 5629 N. Lamar Blvd.
The purchase price was not disclosed. The seller was Trinisic Residential, which developed the property in 2021.
Barvin's purchase follows other recent sales of apartment complexes in the Austin region, which is seeing a surge of new apartment construction and rising rents.
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Last month, Boston-based Berkshire Residential Investments closed on the purchase of the Santal, a 448-unit complex at 7624 Tecoma Circle. The $152 million sale was "one of the largest sales we’ve ever seen in Austin," said Sam Tenenbaum, director of analytics and Central Texas economist for CoStar Group.
The seller was Austin-based Stratus Properties Inc. The Santal is in Austin’s upscale Barton Creek community.
Berkadia, based in New York, represented Stratus in the Santal sale. Kelly Witherspoon, managing director in Berkadia's Austin office, said apartment sales should remain strong this year.
"With housing inventory still at historical lows, it has continued to keep many people renting who don’t necessarily want to be renting," Witherspoon said. "I suspect that will be consistent again this year and continue to fuel the fire for apartment rentals, thus, strong sales activity (is expected to continue) this year.”
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Barvin executives said Austin is a booming metro area and an established tech hub with continued growth potential.
"Over the last two years, more than 100 tech companies have relocated to Austin, creating an additional 5,000 jobs in the area and many notable tech companies... already call Austin home," the company said.
Barvin currently owns about 4,700 apartment units across Texas and Georgia. It operates in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Another Austin apartment complex sells as rental market stays hot
