We recently did a round-up of the50 priciest office dealsto close in the U.S. last year, in an attempt to see what companies look for and where are their preferred locations when they decide to invest in this type of property. We have now enlisted the help of Yardi Matrix data to analyze an entirely different sector of the commercial real estate realm and see which were the top multifamily deals to close during 2017, focusing both on portfolio and single-asset sales.

What stands out from our research is that the office sector tends to be focused largely on single-asset or single-building deals, and a well-positioned office tower in, say,Manhattan, can have an exorbitant price tag, well over the billion-dollar mark. In the case of multifamily, most of the deals in our top 50 are portfolio transactions–in fact, the 10 largest sales of the year were portfolio deals. Moreover, when it comes to large multifamily sales, portfolios tend to include properties or communities located across various states, as is the case with most transactions on our list.

Nevertheless, the multifamily or apartment sector is becoming more and more appealing to investors, as rental rates and condo prices continue to surge all across the U.S., especially in desirable markets such asSan FranciscoandNew York City. Although this phenomenon affects tenants and residents in a negative way, as many simply cannot afford to keep living in the city core in these uber-expensive markets, rising costs bode well for investors, and they are betting big on this sector. Investing in apartment communities can also be very profitable in the long run, especially if property owners undertake value-add efforts and manage to raise rents.

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