The Top 10 Multifamily Deals of the Decade

At $1.71 billion, the sale of an 86-community portfolio from UDR to a partnership of Steven D. Bell & Co. and DRA Advisors was an impressive haul, especially considering the state of the capital markets at the time. The deal, which represented 25,684 units, closed in a difficult environment as many lenders shied away from larger deals. UDR was so concerned about the availability of well-priced capital that it helped to pre-arrange some of the financing before it had even found a buyer. UDR approached Red Mortgage Capital to structure and underwrite a $1.35 billion credit facility through Fannie Mae as it went out to market the deal, which constituted about a third of its portfolio. After locking in the Fannie Mae debt, a $200 million seller’s note was included in the deal, and the remaining balance was paid in equity, split 85 percent and 15 percent between Bell and DRA, respectively. The deal was rate-locked in January when Treasury rates and lender spreads were low. UDR estimated that had it waited until June or July to put the properties on the block, the deal would’ve been about $150 million less given where interest rates had moved by then.