Big Milpitas apartment complex is bought by investors from Colorado

A big apartment complex in Milpitas has been bought for more than $150 million by a veteran owner of residential properties.

MILPITAS — A big apartment complex in Milpitas has been bought for more than $150 million by a veteran owner of residential properties in a deal that suggests investors still thirst for Bay Area real estate in prime locations.

Cerano Apartments, located at 501 Murphy Ranch Road in Milpitas, was bought for $153.5 million by Colorado-based Griffis Residential, which acted through an affiliate, documents filed on March 30 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.

Fairfield Residential sold the complex to Griffis Residential, according to the county’s public records.

Cerano Apartments contains 373 residential units and was built in 2012, the apartments.com website states.

A swimming pool, bocce court, concierge, 24-hour gym, barbecue and grill, fire pit, courtyard, game room and clubhouse are among the on-site amenities.

Griffis Residential obtained a loan of $101.5 million from JLL Real Estate Capital to help finance the purchase, the property documents show.

The purchase appears to represent the first foray into the Bay Area by Griffis Residential, the company’s website indicates. The Milpitas apartment complex is the only Bay Area property listed by Griffis.

Griffis owns 25 apartment communities totaling 8,000 homes in seven markets: Colorado; Austin, Texas; the Seattle area; Portland; San Diego; Long Beach; and Milpitas.

The purchase of Cerano Apartments is the latest in a series of purchases of large apartment complexes in the South Bay in recent years.

Here are some of the recent deals for large apartment complexes in Santa Clara County:

• Eleanor Apartments in Milpitas, totaling 333 units, was bought in July 2022 for $193 million, or about $579,600 an apartment.
• Platform Urban in San Jose, 551 units, was purchased in July 2022 for $320 million, or $580,800 a residence.
• Cherryhill Apartments in Sunnyvale, 224 units, was bought in January 2023 for $106 million, or $473,200 an apartment.

The $153.5 million just-completed purchase of the apartments in Milpitas worked out to about $411,500 a unit, extrapolated from the acquisition price and the number of residences.

The $411,500 figure would indicate that the per-unit prices for purchases of big apartment complexes in the South Bay may be starting to drift lower during 2022 and into the first three months of 2023, based on this sample size of high-profile deals.