NorthMarq has arranged for the assumption of 13 existing Freddie Mac loans and for the origination of six Freddie Mac supplemental loans in connection with Harbor Group International’s recent acquisition of a $1.85 billion apartment portfolio. The 36-asset portfolio includes 13,243 apartment units in eight states. Harbor acquired the portfolio from Los Angeles-based Aragon Holdings. NorthMarq’s Defeasance Services group also coordinated the defeasance of 21 existing Freddie Mac Loans on Aragon Holdings’ behalf as part of the portfolio sale.

The trade, which represents the fifth-largest recorded multifamily portfolio sale, is the largest multifamily transaction to occur since 2016. The portfolio transacted on the heels of four individual multifamily sales, representing Aragon’s disposition of its entire 40-property portfolio valued at $2 billion. NorthMarq’s Houston office arranged the majority of the portfolio’s original financing, which Aragon had acquired over the past 10 years.

NorthMarq’s Houston transaction team included Managing Director Tony Gray, Vice President Kristi Johnson, and Senior Analyst Hollan Hensley. In NorthMarq’s Minneapolis office, Vice President Chris Hall managed the defeasance transaction on behalf of the Defeasance Services team.

“NorthMarq is best-in-class. They originated 53 loans for us worth more than $1 billion since we partnered with them a decade ago. They also facilitated the successful disposition of our $2 billion real estate portfolio through arranging loan assumptions and supplemental mortgages for the new buyer, as well as the defeasance and payoff of multiple loans, said” Dan Guy, President and COO of Aragon Holdings.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the army of NorthMarq team members that helped make this deal a reality. The genesis of this transaction dates back almost 20 months, and required a group effort from numerous departments in our company, including: NorthMarq’s in-house Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae teams, multiple regional offices, insurance and defeasance teams and our servicing department. This deal is evidence that no matter the challenges or requirements of a transaction, the NorthMarq family is always ready to step up to the plate,” said Tony Gray.