Rochester, N.Y.-based apartment REIT Home Properties (NYSE: HME) is under contract to sell its entire Detroit-area apartment portfolio for roughly $225 million.
The 5,046-unit portfolio officially hit the market at the end of 2005. The buyer is private real estate firm Lightstone Group, which owns more than 12,000 apartment units and 29 million sq. ft. of retail, office and industrial space. The New Jersey-based company also sponsors the Lightstone Value Plus REIT, an opportunistic unlisted REIT.
HME received numerous offers for the Detroit portfolio from a slew of buyers, according to the company. Based on an April 27 earnings release, HME was already working with a specific buyer who was performing due diligence at the time. The release also said that HME expects to complete the Detroit portfolio sale by the end of June.
