S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.
The average number of home sales grew 32.2% month over month in March amid high demand, according to real estate franchisor RE/MAX's National Housing Report.
The median sale price was $360,000, 4.7% higher than the $344,000 recorded in February.
Of the 51 metropolitan areas surveyed in March, the Wilmington/Dover market in Delaware saw the biggest year-over-year increase in terms of number of transactions at 6.0%.
Year-over-year prices grew 16.7%, but transactions were down 6.5%.
"The market remains very active right now, especially on the demand-heavy buy side," RE/MAX President and CEO Nick Bailey said. "You have buyers rushing to beat mortgage rate hikes as well as buyers ready to roll as soon as the right listing appears."
Deals
* Blackstone Inc., through Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. and Blackstone Property Partners, agreed to buy American Campus Communities Inc. in a deal that values the student housing company at about $12.8 billion, including debt, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Austin, Texas-based American Campus owns 166 buildings across the U.S.
* NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT completed the C$765 million purchase of a healthcare property portfolio in the U.S. The 27-asset portfolio comprises seven hospitals, five micro-hospitals and 15 medical office buildings totaling 1.2 million square feet across 10 states.
* SL Green Realty Corp. agreed to buy the 450 Park Ave. building in New York City from Oxford Properties Group Inc. for $445.0 million. The 33-story class A tower in Manhattan spans 337,000 square feet of office and retail space.
Property development
* Prologis Inc. plans to build a warehouse spanning more than 2 million square feet in Butts County, Ga., the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, citing a Developments of Regional Impact filing. The $135 million project could break ground on a 164-acre site as early as 2025, according to the report.
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