Equity REIT Buys Santa Clarita Rentals

Chicago real estate investment trust Equity Residential has paid $85 million to Pacific Bay Homes for the Oaks, a 520-unit luxury apartment complex in Santa Clarita.

The Oaks was the first multifamily property built by Pacific Bay, a Newport Beach-based home builder that bought the site at 27105 Silver Oak Lane from Ford Motor Co. in 1999. The 2-year-old complex includes resort-style pools and other amenities, and offers one- to three-bedroom apartments as large as 1,355 square feet that rent for as much as $1,800. The property is 94% occupied.

The Los Angeles County apartment market is one of the healthiest in the nation, with a vacancy rate of 3.4%, according to real estate brokerage Marcus & Millichap.

Apartment investors are attracted to the market because population growth continues to exceed new housing construction and only 31% of families in the county can afford a median-priced single-family home, said Gordon Reese of Marcus & Millichap, who represented the buyer.

-- Roger Vincent