Year-end flurry of downtown high-rise sales

Flair Tower, 222 W Erie St, Chicago

Crain’s is reporting the sale of Flair Tower, 222 W Erie St, and 1212 S Michigan Ave, both rental apartment buildings. A sale may also be in the works for Echelon at K Station, 353 N Des Plaines, according to Crain’s.

The downtown apartment investment market has been on fire this year, with rising rents and occupancies — and the expectation for more gains – drawing investors willing to bid aggressively on properties. Eleven big downtown buildings have already sold this year for a combined $1.07 billion, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

The three latest sales — accounting for about $258 million, if they all close this year — would push total sales volume to about $1.33 billion, eclipsing the record of $1.30 billion in 2007.

Yet there are signs that the frenzy is losing momentum. Some investors are balking at the high prices sellers are seeking, while others are concerned about a construction boom that will add several thousand apartments to the downtown market in the next few years.

Head over to Crain’s to read the per-unit sales prices, which may be in excess of per-unit condo values for the buildings in question.

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