Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Empire Apartments, a 29-unit multifamily community in Anaheim, marking the first closing in a broader portfolio repositioning strategy by the seller. The property changed hands for $8,500,000, equating to $293,103 per unit.
According to Tyler Leeson, executive managing director investments with Marcus & Millichap, the transaction was executed on an all-cash, non-contingent basis at signing and closed in a 26-day escrow. Leeson noted that this deal is the initial disposition from an Anaheim-area multifamily portfolio that the seller is realigning as part of a 1031 exchange strategy into apartment assets elsewhere in Orange County.
Leeson said that buyer interest remains healthy for well-located multifamily properties that offer renovation and operational upside, and that such assets continue to attract capital despite a selective investment environment. The Empire Apartments sale is positioned within that theme, with the purchaser planning to update interiors on a turn basis.
The Leeson Group at Marcus & Millichap’s Orange County office, comprising Leeson, Drew Holden, Matt Kipp and Nick Kazemi, marketed Empire Apartments on behalf of the seller. The seller is described as a family that had held the asset for more than 30 years, highlighting a long-term ownership profile prior to this portfolio repositioning. The same team also sourced the buyer, identified as a large property management company.
Empire Apartments was built in 1964 and is located at 1215 S. Empire St. in Anaheim. While specific unit layouts and amenities were not disclosed, the buyer intends to modernize interior finishes over time as units roll, aligning with a value-add improvement plan rather than a comprehensive repositioning at once.
The combination of an all-cash structure, a compressed escrow timeline and a clear 1031 exchange strategy underscores how some long-term multifamily owners in Anaheim are reallocating capital within the same broader county. At the same time, the buyer’s willingness to transact quickly for a property with identified renovation potential reflects ongoing investor appetite for assets where income can be enhanced through targeted capital improvements and operational execution.
