Mega month

Darron Kattan believes luck and timing are on his side. In the past month, his multifamily division at Franklin Street closed more than $100 million in apartment transactions across central and western Florida. The old adage was “location, location, location,” Kattan says. “The real way to look at it is timing, timing, timing.”

The biggest sale of the month for the Tampa-based commercial real estate firm was an $81 million portfolio of 13 properties scattered from Sarasota to Tampa to Jacksonville. The portfolio was mostly blue-collar or lower income C-class properties, which are now seeing an increase in activity, according to Kattan. “We're seeing a lot of demand, continued interest from institutions paying record pricing,” he says. “It's moving down the ladder, increasing demand on the lower income properties out there.”

Franklin Street has seen an influx of deals involving distressed properties snatched up after the last bubble. These properties are ready to be sold now that demand has returned, Kattan says. Foreign investors are also showing increased interest in central Florida, he adds.