A 254-unit apartment complex directly across from a Valley Metro light rail stop in Midtown Phoenix has changed hands for $73.7 million, with Dallas-based Knightvest Capital buying Pavilions on Central from Seattle's Security Properties. The sale, which closed at roughly $289,960 per unit, adds another out-of-state buyer to a growing list of investors betting on Phoenix's apartment market this year.
Knightvest Capital acquired the property at 1 West Campbell Avenue, according to The Real Deal. Security Properties had purchased Pavilions on Central for $59 million in 2018, meaning the sale delivered the Seattle firm a gross gain of $14.65 million, a 24.8% increase over its original purchase price, per Traded. Security Properties operates a portfolio of over 100 assets valued at more than $6 billion and has acquired or developed over 109,000 residential units since its founding more than 50 years ago, according to Traded.
A Value-Add Play Steps Across From Light Rail
Built in 2000, Pavilions on Central sits in Phoenix's Midtown neighborhood directly across the street from the Campbell/Central Station on the Valley Metro B Line, per The Real Deal. About 85% of the complex's residences, or 216 units, come with direct-access garages, and more than 70% of units are designed in a loft or townhome style, with an average floor plan spanning 1,109 square feet across one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, the outlet reports.
That light rail proximity is not incidental to the property's appeal. Development along the Valley Metro light rail network has generated $20.1 billion in combined private and public capital investment within half a mile of rail lines since 2005, including more than 50,000 residential units, according to Valley Metro. The City of Phoenix has also adopted a Transit Oriented Communities framework promoting high-density, walkable residential development along Central Avenue to link Midtown housing with major employment and education hubs, according to the City of Phoenix.
Knightvest's Sunbelt Buying Spree
Knightvest Capital, founded in 2007 by David Moore, has acquired over 65,000 multifamily units valued at more than $12 billion across Sunbelt growth markets since its inception and currently maintains an active portfolio of roughly 35,000 units, according to Knightvest Capital. The firm's Phoenix purchase landed in the same stretch of mid-August when it also picked up a three-property, 1,027-unit apartment portfolio in the Austin metro area at a discount, spanning communities in Round Rock and Austin, according to Multifamily Dive. That timing points to an aggressive regional expansion wave for the firm across Sunbelt markets.
Phoenix multifamily trades this year have largely been driven by out-of-state investors, and Pavilions on Central is only the latest example. In July, Marlowe Moy of Golden Horizon Enterprises acquired the 334-unit Bungalows on Camelback build-to-rent community in Phoenix for $112.5 million, or about $336,826 per unit, per The Real Deal. In March, Angels owner Arte Moreno spent $125 million in cash on the 253-unit Cortland Biltmore luxury complex, a deal Hoodline covered in a report on the cash buy.
Recent Deals Show a Mixed Bag for Sellers
Not every recent seller has walked away with a gain. Blackstone sold the 412-unit Arrowhead Summit complex in Glendale to NALS Apartment Homes for $101.4 million in April, or about $246,117 per unit, as part of the investment giant's larger sell-off of multifamily properties across the country. Hoodline detailed that transaction, in which Blackstone ate a $22 million loss. Earlier this month, ColRich acquired the 267-unit Avia 266 apartments in Mesa from Geringer Capital for $52.4 million, or about $196,000 per unit, a deal Hoodline also covered in its report on ColRich's bet on aging rentals.
Why Buyers See an Opening Now
The wave of acquisitions comes as Phoenix apartment construction has cooled sharply. Construction dropped 30% year-over-year by mid-2026 to 16,122 units under construction, a sharp deceleration following peak completions in 2024 and 2025, according to Solex CRE. At the same time, metro Phoenix recorded positive net apartment demand in the 12 months through June, absorbing 21,491 units compared with 20,429 delivered, which pushed the metro's overall multifamily vacancy rate down 20 basis points to 11.5%, per the same Solex CRE analysis.
Total Phoenix multifamily sales volume reached $4.7 billion in the 12 months ending June, a 24% year-over-year increase reflecting renewed buyer activity despite higher interest rates, the firm's report notes. The Greater Phoenix area has also been ranked the nation's most renter-friendly market according to WalletHub data measuring cost of living and quality of life, with suburbs including Gilbert, Scottsdale and Chandler ranking among the nation's top three renter-friendly markets, per The Real Deal.
Similar value-add activity has surfaced elsewhere in the Valley in recent months. Scottsdale-based Rise48 Equity acquired the 108-unit Rise at The Northern complex in North Phoenix for $21.7 million in June to pursue interior and exterior renovations, a deal Hoodline covered in its report on the North Phoenix buy. Whether Knightvest pursues similarly aggressive renovations or rent increases at Pavilions on Central remains an open question, particularly in submarkets where renter concessions are still common as the metro absorbs recent completions.
