Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), based in Atlanta, a privately held investment advisory brokerage focusing on multifamily housing, has brokered the $16 million sale of Lofton Place, a 280-unit complex in Tampa.

Northview Realty Group bought Lofton Place for $57,143 per unit and $60.47 per sq. ft. The property was 97% occupied.

Built in 1988, the complex is located on a 17-acre site in Tampa, and its units average 945 sq. ft.

ARA senior vice president Kevin Judd, based in Orlando, along with Boca Raton-based principal Dick Donnellan and vice president Patrick Dufour, based in Tampa, represented the seller of the class B+ property.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of qualified buyers returning to the market,” said Dufour. “Buyers and equity sources are starting to feel more comfortable with new acquisitions.”

The purchase was financed by ARA Finance, a joint venture of ARA and CWCapital, a commercial real estate finance and investment management company that $10 billion in loans across 48 states.

The 10-year loan was 75% of the purchase price and the borrower locked in a rate of 5.66% with the first two years interest-only, followed by 30-year amortization. Private funds were used for equity in the transaction.

To reach qualified buyers, ARA blasted email to proprietary and other databases, among other efforts, and netted more than 20 offers, said Donnellan. “[That is] remarkable, considering the current state of the economy and market in general.”

Recently, multifamily sales have increased in Tampa Bay, and nearly half of transactions year-to-date have closed within the past 60 days.