John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... By far the largest apartment portfolio in Denver’s history is about to hit the market, InsideRealEstateNews has learned.
The children of the late Kal Zeff are selling the properties in the Denver area owned by Carmel Cos., according to sources. Details are scheduled to be released later today.
“This will be the largest deal by a magnitude of four times,” one source familiar with the deal told InsideRealEstateNews. The previous largest deal in the metro area was when Bascom Group LLC paid $190.5 million for the 1,523-unit Breakers Resort community in 2006
The low-profile Kal Zeff built Carmel Cos., over 40 years, into the largest owner of apartment units in the Denver area, prior to his death in 2005.
Zeff was known for building and owning his properties with no intention of ever selling them.
His son, Ron, created his own successful apartment company, Carmel Properties, based in San Francisco. However, Ron, like most apartment developers, buys and sells properties. In addition to Ron, Kal’s children include Michael, Dana and Diana. None of them live in Colorado.
CBRE has listing
CB Richard Ellis is selling the Carmel Cos.’ portfolio, according to sources. Officials from CBRE did not immediately return calls.
“They would like to sell Carmel to one buyer,” said one person familiar with the deal. “I’m not sure if that is possible. But this is a great time to be selling apartments.”
Apartment vacancies in the Denver area, at 5.5 percent, are at a 10-year lower. They are expected to drop more – and rental rates are expected to rise – because there is not enough new supply on the market to meet demand.
Many of the people who are entering Denver’s labor market are young people, who tend to rent, rather than buy homes. Also, it is more difficult to qualify for mortgages than in the past, and more people are skittish about buying homes given the drop in housing values in recent years. These forces have benefitted rental units in Denver and across the nation.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com
