Complex returns to market, with price cut

A apartment complex in Sparks that was purchased for $45.6 million in 2007 by a private investor is back on the market today for almost 50 percent less despite a healthy 95 percent occupancy rate.

Waterstone, a 203-unit property on 13.4 acres at Kiley Ranch Parkway, originally was developed to be sold as condominium units at the height of the realty boom in 2006-2007.

The complex is listed for sale at $23.9 million, says Floyd Rowley, senior vice president of the investment services group with Colliers International. Waterstone, which is now a bank-owned property, was purchased out of foreclosure in September 2009.

Rowley says Waterstone is one of several properties that sold within the past year for approximately half of what they were previously valued. Much of the decline in value, he says, can be attributed to significant rent reductions to lure tenants and buyers' demands for higher returns on their investments which reduces the amount they're willing to pay.

"The combination is a huge double whammy to value," Rowley says.