Berman Enterprises Pays $54M for Baltimore SFR
The Current at Watershed debuted in 2023.
Berman Enterprises acquired The Current at Watershed, a 97-unit single-family rental community in Laurel, Md., for $54 million. Couloir Ventures sold the asset and Northmarq represented it in the transaction proceedings.
Elm Street Development wrapped up the construction in 2023, after securing a $27.4 million construction loan issued by Wells Fargo the year before, according to Yardi Matrix data.
According to Northmarq Senior Vice President Ari Azarbarzin, the Mid-Atlantic BTR market attracts renters-by-choice, seeking both luxury and convenience as they are pushed out of the housing market by elevated mortgage costs and a lack of available starter home supply.
The Current at Watershed’s townhomes include three-bedroom layouts ranging from 1,505 to 2,117 square feet and one- or two-car garages. The property is LEED Gold certified and features a swimming pool, clubhouse, gym, as well as coworking spaces, among others.
READ ALSO: US Single-Family Rent Index—October 2024
Located at 3101 Runnel Lane, the build-to-rent community is about 20 miles from downtown Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The property is inside Watershed, a 202-acre master-planned community that comprises 1,400 homes.
The Northmarq team that represented the seller included Azarbarzin and Senior Vice President Will Harvey, as well as Regional Managing Director Chris Doerr and Associate Jack Brocato.
A dry year for BTR investment in metro Baltimore
The opportunity to acquire single-family rental assets throughout the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the Greater Mid-Atlantic areas is scarce, according to Azarbarzin. Outside of The Current at Watershed, no other BTR assets traded in metro Baltimore during the first 11 months of the year, Yardi Matrix data shows.
Some of the factors behind the scarcity include “lack of supply throughout the Washington-Baltimore Corridor, due to land constraints, high costs of construction, zoning impediments, and other high barriers of entry”, Azarbarzin told MHN.
While the SFR asset class continues to mature over the next year, the Mid-Atlantic and Baltimore markets will have new deliveries, such as Middleburg’s Hamlet at Falling Creek outside Richmond and Craftsmen’s Country Club Estates outside Baltimore, Azarbarzin concluded.
