It was officially announced today that Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) has acquired the Vantage Pointe condo building in San Diego for $200 million.  Vantage Pointe, located in Downtown San Diego in the Core District Neighborhood, is a 40-story high rise featuring 679 apartment units that were formerly slated to be condos.  The Vantage Pointe building also features 26,425 square feet of retail space and 968 underground parking spaces.

Vantage Pointe Sold

The purchase price values the apartment units at approximately $291,000 per unit and $348 per square foot of rentable apartment space.   For a bulk purchase of this type, the sales price per square foot is remarkable.  Single resale units in superior locations are selling for a lower price per square foot.
Vantage Pointe was developed as a condominium project and was completed in 2009. Amenities include a clubhouse, rooftop pool and sundeck, fitness center and theater. Equity Residential purchased 100% of the units, which are being operated as rentals and are currently approximately 22% occupied.

The company has just begun a comprehensive marketing and leasing campaign and expects a year-three stabilized yield of approximately 7%.

“The acquisition of Vantage Pointe is another example of the opportunities we have seized this year to add high quality, well-located assets to our portfolio at prices well below replacement cost,” said David J. Neithercut, Equity Residential’s President and CEO. 

 Who Bought Vantage Pointe?

Equity Residential now owns and operates 14 properties, consisting of 4,963 apartment units, in the San Diego market.
Equity Residential is an S&P 500 company focused on the acquisition, development and management of high quality apartment properties in top U.S. growth markets. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 479 properties located in 21 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 134,484 apartment units.

For Downtown San Diego Real Estate, this should help to make the market recover sooner because it limits the supply of condos that are available for consumers to buy.  With about 90 condos selling per month in downtowns 92101 zip code, this purchase absorbs approximately 7 months of what would have been condo supply.