Bay Area apartment complexes, old and new, land local buyers

SAN JOSE — Local buyers have grabbed apartment complexes, one built 60 years ago in Palo Alto and the other built three years ago in San Jose, in deals that suggest investors still thirst for Bay Area residential sites.

Scotia Apartments in San Jose and Midtown Court Apartments in Palo Alto were bought in recent days for a combined $51 million in recent days, according to documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

The transactions indicate that Bay Area apartment complexes remain attractive for investors that want a piece of the Silicon Valley housing market.

Interest in the residential centers has emerged even in the face of a rising tide of uncertainties, tech layoffs, soaring interest rates and skyrocketing inflation.

Scotia Apartments in San Jose was bought for slightly under $31.3 million, documents filed on March 7 with the County Recorder’s Office show. The buyer was a Campbell-based group headed up by Yue Mar and Jean Mar, according to state business filings. In mid-2022, the property’s assessed value was $29.9 million.

Midtown Court Apartments in Palo Alto was bought for $20 million on March 3, according to the county documents. The buyer was a group led by Tod Spieker, a veteran Bay Area real estate investor. The most recent assessed value was $3.6 million. However, county documents show the complex last was sold in 1981.

The Scotia Apartments is a five-story complex that consists of 55 units that was built in 2020, according to the apartments.com website. The residential complex is near San Jose’s bustling Willow Glen district.

The Midtown Court complex is three stories, totals 60 units and was built in 1963, apartments.com states. Palo Alto’s Midtown district has a number of restaurants and coffee shops.

The $31.25 million price tag for Scotia Apartments works out to about $568,200 a unit. The $20 million price for Midtown Court Apartments equates to about $333,300 a unit.