Pacific Gulf Properties to Sell Apartments

Pacific Gulf Properties is close to selling $120 million of apartment properties, part of the company’s plan to focus on developing warehouses. The Newport Beach-based real estate investment trust said it expects to reach an agreement on the sale of apartments in the Seattle area and Southern California within two weeks, said Glenn Carpenter, chairman, president and chief executive. Carpenter said the real estate investment trust has been penalized by investors, who tend to favor REITs that focus on one property type. Pacific Gulf’s stock trades at about nine times estimated earnings, compared with about 10 times for other REITs focused exclusively on industrial properties. “We think moving out of the apartment business will purify us in investors’ minds,” said Carpenter. The proceeds, he said, would be reinvested in the company’s industrial property developments in California. It currently owns 67 industrial properties with about 14 million square feet of space. It also owns some senior housing properties that are not for sale. The company’s stock closed Friday at $19.94 a share, up 19 cents.