Pittsburgh Apartments -- More to Discover in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh-area apartment buildings continue to find favor with out-of-town buyers.

And for good reason, experts say.

Apartment vacancies in the region stood at only 2.5 percent at year-end 2008 Ñ the lowest vacancy rate in the nation, according to one report Ñ and that's proving attractive to investors from other states.

"With our occupancy level close to 98 percent, it's no wonder that 70 percent of apartment building sales here are to out-of-town buyers," said Cynthia Kamin, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, a Downtown-based commercial real estate company.

A high occupancy rate attracts buyers because it means a higher cash flow, and a quicker return on an investments, said Kamin, who recently handled a sale of the 241-unit Penn Towers complex in Wilkins to Brookview Associates, an affiliate of St. Louis-based developer, Brookview Group Ltd., for $10.235 million.

Kamin represented the seller, Penn Towers Associates LP, a limited partnership with Soffer Management LLC of Pittsburgh as general partner.

Even if an apartment's occupancy level isn't in the 90s, there are other reasons those locally can prove attractive to investors.

An example is Penn Towers, which had a vacancy rate of 14 percent.

"We have been looking at Pittsburgh for the past four to five years because it is a stable community with considerable senior residents, the clientele we cater to," said Barry Pessin, a principal with Brookview Associates.

"Although it had vacancies, it met that criteria, and we have retained the staff, and have set aside funds for renovations," he said. "Pittsburgh is comfortable for us and if the opportunity arises for us to purchase a similar building, we would consider it."

"There is a lot of interest, particularly from New York companies in the Pittsburgh apartment market," said Kevin Keane, senior vice president of Lincoln Property Co.

Keane said the 3,000 or so apartments his company owns and/or manages in this region have continued to maintain occupancy levels in the high 90s.

"We are working with investors interested in purchasing apartments here, and have made offers on apartments that are for sale, although not necessarily on those we own or manage," he said.

Out-of-town investors have adopted a "flight to safety concept" because apartments here do not have a lot of volatility in occupancy that other communities experience, he said.

Among the more recent apartment sale deals involved Morgan Management LLC of Pittsford, N.Y., which in December paid $11.6 million for the 291-unit Westpointe Apartments in Robinson, public records show.