A new Deerfield Beach apartment complex sold for $30.5 million in a strong multifamily market fueled by robust South Florida population growth and the high costs of home ownership.

New Jersey-based Landmark Cos. through affiliate Grande Associates Owner LLC bought the apartment community completed this year from AHS Residential LLC affiliate Village at Crystal Lakes LLC, according to Broward County property and state corporate records. The transaction closed Wednesday.

The three-building Club at Crystal Lake totals 144,205 square feet and sits on 5 acres, according to the Broward County property records.

The complex northwest of Military Trail and Sample Road at 3800-3816 Crystal Lake Drive has 125 units, which works out to $244,000 per unit.

The Miami-based seller builds residential communities in South Florida. It also build two south Miami-Dade apartment communities: the under-construction Village at Coral Reef and and Pine Groves, according to its website.

The Club at Crystal Lake offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Rents range from $1,759 a month for a 986-square-foot, two-bedroom unit to $1.995 month for a 1,242-square-foot, three-bedroom unit, according to multifamily listing service Apartments.com.

The buyer took out a $17.5 million loan from JPMorgan Chase, county records show.

Landmark is a residential developer that builds single-family homes and manages 3,500 apartments in New Jersey, according to its website.

This is Landmark's first property acquisition in Florida as the company is existing some of its holdings in New Jersey in favor of the Sunshine State, according to Eric Harvitt, one of the principals.

"The New Jersey market is showing some challenges. We are just diversifying and selling some assets in New Jersey and looking to buy some asset out of state," he said.

New Jersey is a high-tax state with a less robust population growth. On the other hand, Florida has no state income tax and is boasting population growth.

The acquisition comes at a healthy time specifically for South Florida apartments, which are catching the eye of out-of-state investors focused on suburban communities.

Aside from population growth, job growth also is keeping the region busy, but home purchases also are prohibitive. The change to apartments is a switch from pre-recession times when condominiums were popular.

Overall, the South Florida multifamily transaction volume in the first three quarters of the year reached $1.2 billion, up 24% from the same period last year.

Related stories: