BSR Real Estate Investment Trust announced Wednesday that it is buying three apartment complexes in Texas for $195 million to advance its strategy of expanding in Sun Belt markets.
The Little Rock company, which owns and manages upper-scale apartment complexes, is purchasing two complexes in the Houston area and one near Dallas. The acquisitions add about 1,000 total units to BSR's portfolio.
BSR's strategy has been to sell off older apartments in rural markets and focus on purchasing newer complexes in the growing Sun Belt markets of Austin, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Northwest Arkansas. The purchases announced Wednesday line up with that approach.
"BSR has gained impressive scale in these markets, and we are continuing to build greater scale by acquiring two additional phases of prior acquisitions, allowing us to use our experience to manage these modern communities to their fullest potential," John Bailey, the company's president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.
BSR is using its line of credit for the acquisitions and the company said the properties would be immediately accretive to earnings.
Also Wednesday, the company said that it sold Capri Apartments in Blytheville last month for $3.1 million.
In the Dallas market, BSR has purchased Vale Frisco Apartments, which has 349 units. The complex, in Frisco, Texas, is adjacent to Satori Frisco, a complex the company purchased in December.
The two acquisitions in the Houston market include 660 units and both are newly built complexes.
The Adley at Gleannloch Apartments in Spring, Texas, was built in 2019 and each apartment has 9-foot ceilings, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
The Alleia Long Meadow Farms complex is in Richmond, Texas, and is near the Satori at Long Meadow apartments that BSR purchased in October 2019.
All three complexes have upscale amenities such as soaking tubs, resort-style pools, outdoor kitchens, fitness centers and dog parks.
"With the purchase of Adley, Vale Frisco and Alleia, we are enhancing our portfolio positioning in Dallas and Houston," Bailey said.
Since going public in May 2018, the company has decreased the portfolio's weighted average age of its apartments from 29 to 15 years old. It has made 17 acquisitions that have added 5,200 apartment units. It has sold 35 complexes with 6,832 apartment units.
The company currently owns and manages 29 apartment complexes with 7,804 units.