Rise48 Acquires Value-Add Cantebria Apartments in DFW

Rise48 still believes in North Texas multifamily.

The Phoenix-based firm just acquired the Cantebria Apartments at 1950 Oak Creek Lane in Bedford, its third multifamily property in the region, with plans to seek more value-add assets across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to a news release.

Built in 1983, the apartment complex has been owned since 2019 by Cantebria Atlantic LLC, whose La Jolla, California, address is associated with Atlantic Realty Group, property tax records show.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Tarrant County Appraisal District values the complex at $29.3 million, or $166,000 per unit. Rise48 plans to spend $5 million upgrading interiors and exteriors, along with landscaping and amenity improvements.

The 176-unit complex leases one- and two-bedrooms for $1,100 to $1,800 per month, according to online listings. Amenities include a pool, gym and clubhouse. It will be rebranded to Rise Oak Creek, according to the release.

Rise48 has offices in the Dallas Arts Tower and does most of its transactions in Dallas and Phoenix. The company has been living up to its numerical name since it was founded in 2019, acquiring 43 apartment properties totaling nearly $2 billion since then. The firm focuses on apartment complexes that need upgrades to flip and create income for investors, according to its website.

The firm has acquired nearly 1,000 units in Dallas with plans to acquire 2,000 more this year, Rise48’s 31-year-old CEO Zach Haptonstall told the Dallas Business Journal.

“The first three years we had nothing to show for it. But now we’ve got a track record and have purchased $1.4 billion of multifamily in the last two years,” Haptonstall said.

Class-B value add flips have been popular with North Texas investors in recent years, but deals have been slowing as interest rate rises have caused market upheaval. Commercial transactions totalled $3.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, a drop of more than 70 percent compared to the same period in 2022, according to MSCI.

While the distress wall hasn’t collapsed in Texas yet, some firms are building investment funds and jumping at opportunities as multifamily and commercial property investors look to offload assets on the cheap.

In April, Arbor Realty Trust foreclosed on a $229 million multifamily portfolio in Houston, and in Dallas, companies like Bradford Properties have raised nine-figure funds to target distressed real estate in Texas.