Bluerock Residential CEO Robert Ramin Kamfar (Owler)
Another REIT is considering taking advantage of a hot market by exploring a sale and other strategic options.
Bluerock Residential Growth REIT, based in New York, is considering an outright sale as well as a recapitalization, according to Bloomberg.
Bluerock is a multifamily developer and landlord — an advantageous spot to be in as Americans increasingly look to rentals given soaring housing prices and uncertain work arrangements.
The REIT had 60 rental properties as of the end of June including a number in hot cities such as Atlanta and Phoenix. Its portfolio totals nearly 18,000 units and the 35 consolidated operating properties it has are 96.2 percent occupied, also as of the end of June, Bloomberg reported.
Word of a potential outright sale caused a spike in the publicly traded company’s shares, which jumped as much as 11 percent before giving back most of that gain. Shares are up 4.4 percent over the past five days, giving the company a market capitalization of almost $290 million. Its enterprise value is nearly $2.5 billion, including debt.
Last year, the REIT sold a 90-unit apartment community in Boca Raton to Bell Partners for $37.75 million, approximately $419,000 per unit. The sale came four years after the company bought the land for $4 million.
Other REITs are considering sales. Cedar Realty Trust, based on Long Island, is also looking into strategic alternatives for its business. The company is focused on retail properties, primarily those anchored by grocery stores, as well as mixed-use development projects. A sale of its grocery store-anchored portfolio could fetch $965 million.
Early this month, PIMCO agreed to buy Columbia Property Trust for $2.2 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at close to $3.9 billion.
[Bloomberg] — Holden Walter-Warner
