Three Oasis apartment complexes in Las Vegas to be sold by March

Phil Levine

Thursday, Dec. 23, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

Camden Property Trust hopes to sell three of its 41 Las Vegas apartment complexes as part of a move to shed its older properties.

The Houston real estate investment trust has put 10 complexes in Texas, Missouri and Nevada up for sale; total asking price for all the properties is $152 million.

In Las Vegas, the company is asking $18 million for the 350-unit Oasis Winds at 5050 Tamarus St., $14.5 million for the 240-unit Oasis Heights at 5325 E. Tropicana Ave. and $14.4 million for the 270-unit Oasis Topaz at 4775 Topaz St.

Last year, Camden acquired Henderson-based Oasis Residential Inc. for $972 million. Oasis shareholders received $542 million in Camden stock, while Camden assumed $430 million in debt.

At the time of the acquisition, Oasis controlled 15,116 units in Southern Nevada; the merged companies formed the nation's third-largest real estate investment trust.

Craig LaFollette, real estate broker at CB Richard Ellis' Houston office, said Camden is willing to consider selling the properties either individually or in clusters.

"We expect all offers to be in by Jan. 20, and believe we will close all the transactions by the end of March," he said. "The company would be willing to sell each property individually, by city, or as a total package."

LaFollette said the move is part of Camden's ongoing annual review of its holdings.

"The company has a yearly review of each of its properties," he said. "At that time, consideration is given to two basic factors -- the property's age and the concentration of holdings in that area. These properties were chosen to be put on sale for those reasons."

Camden is also convinced the timing of the sale works in its favor.

"No question, that there's currently a strong demand for quality (apartment) complexes in that market," said LaFollette.

That's a view shared by Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst with Las Vegas-based real estate broker Lee & Associates.

"Overall, the residential market remains very strong, although increasing land costs means there's been a tendency to move to higher density (properties)," he said. "So far, we haven't seen either rents fall or occupancy rates decline despite new property construction.

"That's a result of the remarkable growth we've seen in the last few years. It remains a pretty good time to sell multi-family properties in this market."

LaFollette said Camden's decision to sell the Las Vegas properties doesn't signal a change in direction for the company.

"Camden still has a very high opinion of the Las Vegas (real estate) market," LaFollette said. "The fast growth -- in terms of both population and jobs -- makes it an attractive market.

"Despite this sale, Camden continues to be interested in looking at any desirable (Las Vegas) properties that may become available."