Top 5 Apartment Owners in Raleigh-Durham

The Raleigh-Durham, N.C., metro has long been in the sights of investors, owing to strong and steady employment and population growth. Rents across the metro grew by an average of 2.8 percent year-over-year through May, more than double the national rate. The vast majority of the largest apartment owners across The Triangle are regional or national investors. Of the 46 investors with a portfolio of more than 1,000 units, only five are exclusively focused on Raleigh-Durham.

Nearly half of the largest owners’ assets are Class A properties, illustrating the continued investment potential in higher-end communities in the area. The table below highlights the top five multifamily owners in Raleigh-Durham as of the end of June, based on data provided by Yardi Matrix.

5. Weinstein Properties

Bexley at Triangle Park

Weinstein Properties entered the metro in 2004 with a pair of acquisitions totaling $45.6 million in the Morrisville submarket. Since then, the firm has steadily increased its footprint to 2,806 unitst hrough a series of Class A and B purchases. Weinstein’s most recent buy—the $48.8 million acquisition of the 312-unit Belmont—closed in December 2014.

The investor’s largest property is the 434-unit Bexley at Triangle Park, purchased from Fairfield Residential for $51.1 million in 2012. The asset, like most of Weinstein’s holdings, is situated in the Morrisville submarket. The community provides a range of amenities, from a recently renovated fitness center to electric car charging stations.

4. Camden Property Trust

Camden Manor Park Apartments

With more than 3,000 units spread across eight submarkets, owner-developer Camden Property Trust has built all but one of its current holdings in the market. The firm has been an active player in Raleigh-Durham since the 1980s, with its most recent delivery in late 2009.

The Camden Manor Park Apartments is the firm’s largest property in the metro. Totaling 484 units across six buildings in the Laurel Hills submarket, the asset is 6 miles northwest of downtown Raleigh and a stone’s throw from Interstate 440. In May, the community was 94 percent occupied.

3. Carroll Org.

ARIUM Lake Johnson

Carroll Org. owns more than 25,000 units in the southern U.S., with 3,685 located in the Raleigh-Durham metro. The firm is a relative newcomer to the market. While its first purchase was in 2013, the company partnered with PGIM Real Estate to ramp up its presence with a 2,883-unit portfolio acquisition from Lone Star Funds in November.

ARIUM Lake Johnson, comprising 576 units, is Carroll’s largest asset in the market. Acquired as part of the Lone Star deal, the community is situated north of Interstate 40 in the Wynnewood submarket. The property’s amenity mix includes a tennis and basketball court, swimming pool and dog park.

2. General Services Corp.

Duke Manor Apartments

More than a quarter of General Services Corp.’s 18,000-unit national portfolio is in Raleigh-Durham, solidly placing the firm as the metro’s second-largest multifamily owner. The company maintains a strong presence in Richmond, Va., and is also active in Florida, Georgia and Nevada.

The firm’s 904-unit Duke Manor Apartments is the largest community in the metro. Located at 311 S. LaSalle St., the garden-style property was built in 1973 and includes 57 buildings spread across 43.4 acres within a mile of Duke University and Duke Medical Center. In May, the asset was 86.9 percent occupied.

1. MAA

Post Parkside at Wade

MAA is the largest owner in the metro with a total of 5,200 units. The REIT’s overall portfolio includes some 100,000 units nationwide, from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas. The trust is also Austin’s largest apartment owner.

The firm’s Raleigh-Durham portfolio is spread across 10 submarkets. The largest property, the 803-unit Post Parkside at Wade, is in the middle of an expansion project. The development is slated to deliver by the end of the year, adding 150 units alongside several recently constructed office buildings. The completed part of the community was 95.3 percent leased as of May.