Matheson Capital has made its biggest acquisition to date, purchasing the 248-unit Residences at St. George in Savannah, Georgia.
Matheson Capital plans to update the Residences at St. George unit interiors with appliance packages, new kitchen cabinets and countertops, improved flooring and lighting and efficient bathroom renovations. It will also renovate the clubhouse, fitness center, pool area and dog park, along with other amenity improvements.
“We’ve been looking in [Savannah] since at least 2020,” Matheson said. “The market has a lot of job growth. And, it doesn’t have the same supply growth that other markets do.”
The Residences at St. George also carried a lot of appeal for Matheson, due to its financing structure and cost basis. The property came with an assumable loan at a 2.95% interest rate over eight years of term remaining.
“Based on our market data, there had been six transactions in the last four months of 2023 [in Savannah],” Matheson said. “Five of those six had a higher price per unit than what we paid for that property.”
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Stintino Management will handle the property’s operation. “They invest in our deals, and they manage our deals,” Matheson said.
Matheson Capital, founded by twin brothers and CBRE alums Evan and Will Matheson, is relatively new to the multifamily stage. Formed in 2015, the Charleston-based real estate investment and asset management firm specializing in value-add multifamily properties in the Southeast made its first purchase in January 2018. As values skyrocketed, it sold the asset two months later.
“We bought it for $800,000 and sold it for $985,000,” said Will Matheson. The company continued making acquisitions selling “pretty much everything we owned” at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, according to Matheson. “We sold right before they started raising interest rates,” he said.
In 2023 and now in 2024, Matheson is ramping up its acquisitions pace. “2024 has been our biggest year ever already,” Matheson said. “So while the market has been slowing down, we have been taking off. Our [capital] raises have gotten bigger, and our acquisitions have gotten bigger.”
Matheson thinks apartment prices have fallen as much as 33% over the last two years, giving the firm a window to make more acquisitions. “A lot of buyers are not actively looking for various reasons,” Matheson said. “So if you tell me that prices are down and demand is down, I think that’s a good recipe to buy. As soon as buyers reenter the market, you’re going to see pricing creep up.”
