A pair of Madison apartment complexes changed hands in a $29.95 million deal that brokers say reflects investors still hungry for well-located multifamily property in the city, even as the broader rental market cools. Back Nine Acquisitions, LLC bought the 108-unit portfolio from Flad Development & Investments, scooping up two buildings sitting just over a mile apart near the Hilldale Shopping Center on Madison's west side.
CBRE arranged the sale, according to Connect CRE, which reported that the portfolio includes The Tradition at Smoky's Club, a 59-unit building at 3007 University Ave., and The Whitney Reserve, a 49-unit property at 5201 Old Middleton Road. The two sites sit 1.4 miles apart and together include more than 2,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space in what's known as Madison's West submarket. Both properties also sit close to downtown Madison, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and UW Health.
Brokers Point to Strong Investor Appetite
Gretchen Richards, Matson Holbrook and Sean Beuche of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Richards said demand for high-quality multifamily properties in Madison remains strong, specifically for newly constructed properties in prime locations, and that the portfolio drew in significant interest from both local and national investors due to the choice locale, discerning design decisions, and attentive management, per the same report.
That bullishness echoes sentiment CBRE has expressed elsewhere in Wisconsin. In a statement tied to a separate 674-unit deal in Fitchburg, the firm said investor appetite for multifamily in the Madison market outpaces available supply by a significant margin, according to a CBRE press release.
A Cooling Market Still Drawing Big Deals
The sale lands at a moment when Madison's apartment market is sending mixed signals. The region added a net 2,802 multifamily units in 2025, a 2.8% increase, but vacancy climbed from 5.9% to 6.2% over the same period while year-over-year asking rent growth slowed from 2.5% to 1.4%, according to the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. CoStar data cited in that report also counted 5,837 multifamily units under construction regionwide as of the January 2026 snapshot, suggesting more supply is still on the way even as rent gains ease.
Despite that softening, big-dollar multifamily trades have kept coming across the metro. CBRE previously arranged the sale of Royster Commons and 515@Royster, another two-property Madison portfolio totaling 174 units, which Weidner Apartment Homes bought from Ruedebusch Development & Construction for $34 million. Berkadia also announced the sale of Aster at Sun Prairie, a 228-unit property in the Madison metro, on October 5. And CBRE separately arranged the sale of a four-property, 358-unit portfolio in Milwaukee for $29.65 million, showing similar deal activity isn't confined to Dane County.
