IPA-Brokered Sale Sets Record for Santa Barbara County

Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, closed the sale of La Vista Apartments, a 460-unit multifamily asset in Santa Maria, for $116 million or $252,174 per unit. According to IPA, the property is the largest multifamily asset ever sold in Santa Barbara County by number of units and sales price, breaking a record previously set by IPA.

“The fastest-growing city in Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria is in the midst of a dynamic growth period with surging housing demand,” said Joseph Grabiec, IPA executive managing director investments. “It is estimated that the city’s population will grow 27% between 2024 and 2050, and during the next five years, average year-over-year rent growth is projected to be 4% annually while occupancy remains above 96.5%.” 

Grabiec and IPA’s Kevin Green and Gregory Harris represented the seller, Kennedy Wilson, and procured buyer Westview Capital. Green added, “La Vista Apartments gives new ownership an attractive yield going in, a durable income stream, and the ability to capture long-term rent growth and loss-to-lease via implementing a light renovation strategy to 95% of the units.”