Bahrain-based Investcorp said its US-based real estate arm has acquired three multifamily housing properties in New York, California, and Nevada for a total purchase price of $400 million.

All three properties are located in markets which benefit from robust fundamentals in the multifamily space, said the company in a statement.

Mohammed Alardhi, the executive chairman of Investcorp said: "As we look to the next phase of growth for Investcorp, we have great confidence that the US is a place where our investments will continue to serve our global client base well, as we believe the American economy is poised for significant growth."

"We have a long history of investments in the US, and our $1.2 billion investment in residential properties in the past 18 months demonstrates our belief that the country's real estate market provides high-quality investments that will generate steady returns in the years to come," stated Alardhi.

Yasser Bajsair, the managing director at Investcorp in Saudi Arabia, pointed out that the US real estate sector remained an attractive market for Investcorp, and a market where it has established a strong track record of successful investments.

"These well-leased properties not only continue a period of exceptional activity for our real estate team, but we believe also present an opportunity to generate attractive annual yields in a low-yielding global environment," observed Bajsair.

On the new acqusitions, Investcorp said the Atlantic Point is a 795-unit, Class A, 115-acre multifamily housing property located in Bellport, New York, which is located within the Nassau County-Suffolk County Metro Division.

Suffolk County is one of the tightest multifamily housing markets in the US with a vacancy rate of 2.9 per cent. Given the high cost of land and strict zoning regulations which makes it difficult to build, the area has seen minimal new development since the 1990s.

This has led to a favourable supply / demand imbalance in the overall market. The region is home to Brookhaven National Lab, Stony Brook University, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital and Stony Brook University Hospital, said the Bahraini group.

The second property, Highlands is a 556-unit, Class B, garden-style multifamily housing unit in Grand Terrace, California, in the Riverside-San Bernardino MSA.

In this area, the multifamily market leads the nation in rent growth, having logged 5.1 per cent in rent growth in 2016. Market-wide vacancy is projected to average 2.4 per cent over the next five years, it stated.

Investcorp's third strategic buy - Villas at Green Valley is a 609-unit, Class B, garden-style multifamily housing property located in Henderson, Nevada, in the Las Vegas.

The metro Las Vegas economy has rebounded strongly since the 2008/2009 downturn. As a result of factors such as no state income tax, a low cost of living, and a favourable climate, population growth has exceeded 50 per cent since 2000.

Further, over the next five years, the metro area is projected to lead the nation in population, employment and real Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) growth, all of which are expected to be solid drivers for multifamily demand, it added.

A leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, Investcorp offers such investments to its high-net-worth private and institutional clients on a global basis.

Led by a new vision, the Bahraini group has embarked on an ambitious growth strategy to double assets under management (AUM) in the medium term.

As of December 31, 2016, the Investcorp Group had $10.4 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a non-discretionary advisory mandate where Investcorp receives fees calculated on the basis of AUM.-TradeArabia News Service