California Investor Acquires Texas Multifamily Community

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Austin, Texas—MIG Real Estate has acquired the Cottages, an apartment property in Austin, Texas. The property, which is 94 percent occupied, includes 300 units that average 907 square feet in size, and features 17 craftsman-style, two-story buildings. The Cottages also feature private ground-floor entrances with no common breezeways.

The buyer didn’t disclose the price, but did say that it plans to invest as much as $600 million in CRE this year, with a good bit of that possibly going toward properties in Texas. “MIG plans to invest a significant portion of the $600 million that it’s targeted for investment opportunities in Texas markets,” a representative of the company tells MHN.

MIG entered Texas in May with the purchase of Wynhaven at Willowbrook, a 372-unit multifamily property in Houston. The company explains that the acquisition was especially attractive because the surrounding area has seen a 25 percent growth in population since 2000, and is projected to grow an additional 9 percent over the next five years. The area also contains significant existing and developing employment hubs that ensure a continual supply of potential residents for the property.

The company likewise sees strong demographics in Austin, which has been number one on Forbes magazine’s list of America’s fastest-growing cities for two years in a row. Other Texas markets that MIG is interested in, such as Houston, DFW and San Antonio, have also been in the top ten on the list in recent years.

Charles Cirar, Michael Wardlaw, Colin Cannata and Darcy Hammar of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction, with MIG representing itself. Alliance Residential Co., a national operator, will manage the Cottages for MIG. Bill Chiles and Scott Peterson arranged the deal’s agency financing, which closed simultaneously with the acquisition.