COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Apartment Sales Still Slow: Sales of apartment complexes in Orange County continued to drag at the start of the year, according to a first-quarter survey by the Anaheim office of CB Commercial Real Estate Group.

From January through March, nine buildings of more than 20 apartment units were sold. On an annualized basis, that figure is up from 1991, which saw a total of 27 transactions. But both years fall far behind 1990’s 72 transactions and 1989’s 73 sales.

The average cost per unit has also dropped dramatically, to $60,170 for 1992 so far. That is down from $68,400 for 1991, $76,292 for 1990 and $76,558 for 1989.

On the brighter side, however, the nine apartment complexes that have sold this year are showing profits after making payments on their loans. “There were no major vacancy problems in any of them,” said Brad Turek, apartment specialist at CB Commercial. “Apartment buildings are still a good investment.”