East Brainerd apartments sold for $46.8 million

In its second major apartment acquisition in East Brainerd in as many years, an Atlanta-based real estate investment firm purchased the Parc 1346 apartment complex on Gunbarrel Road for $46.8 million.

The Shoptaw Group, which bought The Shallowford apartments in 2019 for $32 million, bought the 316-unit Parc 1346 complex in December for nearly 60% more than the former owners paid for the property just six years earlier, according to the Hamilton County Register of Deeds.

The purchase was the second highest price ever paid for an apartment complex in Chattanooga and underscores the growing appeal of the local residential rental market to real estate investment firms across the country.

According to Hamilton County property records, outside investors have paid nearly $300 million to buy apartment complexes in Chattanooga over the past two years as rental rates have risen and interest rates have dropped.

A study of apartment rental rates for December by the online rental service Zumper showed the average two-bedroom apartment in Chattanooga is renting for $1,200 a month, or 17.6% more than a year ago. Although Chattanooga apartment rental rates average 19.3% less than the U.S. average of $1,487 for a two-bedroom unit, Chattanooga rental rates are rising at some of the fastest rates in the country and more than six times the growth in average income in the past year.