2012 has been marked by an increase in sales of 20+ unit apartments on the South Coast. There have been 6 such properties sold so far this year, compared to just 5 during the three preceding years combined. In the most recent example, private investors purchased the 32-unit apartment property at 1035 Cliff Dr in Santa Barbara in an off-market transaction. The ocean view property is on the Mesa near Santa Barbara City College. Francois DeJohn, Steve Hayes and Christos Celmayster of Hayes Commercial Group represented the seller.

“Demand for multifamily property is currently outpacing supply on the South Coast,” Celmayster said. “As a result we have seen more off-market transactions, and in a some cases purchase prices have yielded cap. rates below 5%, which is indicative of a seller’s market.