A southeast Bend apartment complex has been sold for $45.5 million, the highest sale price on record for a multifamily building in Bend and Deschutes County, according to Portland brokerage HFO Investment Real Estate LLC.

Seasons at Farmington Reserve, a 228-unit complex on Aaron Way, was sold on July 16, a deed filed in Deschutes County shows.

HFO represents the seller, an entity managed by Portland real estate developer Walter Bowen. Broker Rob Marton said the property was marketed nationally to institutional investors. The buyer is SP/LLU Farmington, LLC, an entity affiliated with Security Properties of Seattle.

Security Properties invests in, develops and operates multifamily buildings. A representative of the firm couldn’t be reached for comment.

“The buyers are very confident the market’s going to remain tight,” said Dan Steelhammer, a broker at Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Advisors who works with multifamily buildings.

Several more apartment buildings have been planned and built in Bend since Bowen’s firm opened the first building at Seasons in 2016. That hasn’t made Bend any less of a seller’s market, Steelhammer said. “It takes a long time to go through the process,” he said. “The unknowns right now in terms of labor and materials are quite high, which makes existing property more attractive.”

Rents at Seasons range from $805 per month for the smallest one-bedroom apartment to $1,770 per month for the most expensive two-bedroom floor plan, a property manager said.

The rents reflect Bend’s low vacancy rate as well as Seasons’ high-quality finishes and amenities, Marton said. “There’s only one other that would rival it, as far as an amenity-based apartment complex,” he said.

The sale price reflects the income generated by the property, which has a capitalization rate, or return on investment, of 5.2 percent, Marton said. While the Seasons at Farmington Reserve transaction boasts the highest overall sale price, another apartment property could claim the highest per-unit price, he said. At least one other property in Bend is listed for more than the $199,561 per unit that Security Properties paid for Seasons.

Bowen’s firm, BPM Real Estate Group, finished the final building at Seasons in September 2017. Marton said the capital from this transaction will go toward another development project.

— Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com