That’s good and bad for multifamily property owners. If you want to sell, you can make a very nice profit. But if you want to buy, you will be competing against countless eager real estate investors. “There’s a buyer for every property out there,” Hawks says. “When people can put their money in the bank for one or two percent interest, but can get a 6 or 8 percent return in real estate, it’s a huge spread right now.”
Jacksonville, Fla.: This is one market that began to heat about 12 months ago, says Linwood Thompson, managing director for the National Multi Housing Group at Marcus & Millichap, a brokerage firm in Atlanta. “People see it as an opportunity, but they don’t have to pay the price of a Southern California or South Florida.”
Phoenix and Tucson: The great attraction of these Arizona cities is their proximity to, and distance from, the Golden State. “Californians represent 50 percent of the buyers in Phoenix and Tucson,” says John McDermott, national director for mortgage broker Sperry Van Ness in Irvine, Calif. “It’s much more expensive than it was two years ago, but still cheaper than California. People sell high in California and buy low in Arizona.”
Seattle: Though operating performance has been shaky during the past few years, buyers are streaming back into Seattle. Once again, the push comes from people priced out of California. “Seattle is less expensive San Francisco,” McDermott says. “It has the weather, port, and architectural feel of San Francisco, but it’s nowhere near the financial dynamo.”
