Multifamily Deals Multiply

Wall Street Journal (04/09/08) P. C13; Karp, Jonathan
Deal activity remains brisk in the multifamily housing sector, with apartment values buoyed by a rare availability of financing, compliments of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Looking to fulfill their mandate to provide funding for affordable housing while turning a profit, the two government-sponsored enterprises are expanding in the multifamily housing sector and filling the void left by private lenders. Denver-based UDR Inc. recently benefited from that capital availability in its $1.71 billion sale of nearly 40 percent of its apartment portfolio to a joint venture of DRA Advisors LLC and Steven D. Bell & Co., as Fannie Mae provided the lion's share of financing. AvalonBay Communities Inc., meanwhile, turned to both GSEs in March for $265 million in mortgage financing on two apartment communities in Northern Virginia. Green Street Advisors Inc. Chairman Mike Kirby expects the good times to last, as the apartment sector "is the beneficiary of the housing mess, and it feels like it has room to run."