A sprawling 1,520-unit apartment community in Pembroke Pines sold for $322 million in South Florida's biggest multifamily sale so far this year.

NexPoint Residential Trust Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Dallas, bought The Avant at Pembroke Pines on Aug. 30 from National Property REIT Corp., which has offices in New York and Park City, Utah. The sale was listed in Broward County public records Monday.

The mammoth transaction comes in one of the region's strongest asset classes fueled by strong demand due to steady population growth. The high cost of buying a home also is prompting residents to rent instead of buy.

The Avant trade beat this year's record holder, the $209 million sale of two garden-style apartment communities south of Doral. The Blackstone Group LP bought Doral View and next-door Town Fontainebleau Lakes in May.

The Doral apartments traded at a higher per-unit price than Avant, which breaks down to $211,842 per unit. The Doral sale was for $290,000 per unit.

The Avant at Pembroke Pines sits on 85 acres southeast of Flamingo Road and Washington Street just north of Pembroke Road near Interstate 75 and Florida's Turnpike Extension.

It's bigger than the average garden-style community with a combined 1.4 million square feet, according to the county property appraiser's office. It was constructed in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The buyer, NexPoint, is advised by an affiliate of Highland Capital Management LP, an alternative investment management company based in Dallas. Highland was founded in 1993 by Jim Dondero and Mark Okada and invests on behalf of institutional and retail investors in the U.S. and abroad, according to its website. Aside from real estate, it invests in high-yield credit, public equities, private equity and health care.

NexPoint took out a $177 million loan to finance the purchase. Wells Fargo is listed as the loan's administrative agent.

Rent at Avant is $1,380 a month for a one-bedroom, 786-square-foot unit; $1,535 for a two-bedroom, 978-square-foot unit; and $1,570 for a slightly bigger 1,053-square-foot unit, according to the community's website.

The gated community boasts a wide range of amenities, including a 24-hour gym, resort-style swimming pool and a sand volleyball court. The community also is pet friendly and has no restrictions on dog size.

Seller National Property bought Avant in June 2013 for $225 million for a 43 percent gain in six years.

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