Japan-Based Firm Buys L.A. Apartment Complex for $72M

The housing market in Los Angeles’ South Bay region is on the rise, and Tokyo-based real estate firm Koto Estate Company clearly wants more in.

Koto purchased a 121-unit apartment complex at 25935 Rolling Hills Road in Torrance, Calif., dubbed The Highlands, from an entity tied to local investors Peter Bohlinger and Joy Bohlinger for $71.5 million. The Real Deal first reported the news.

Bohlinger acquired the building in 2022 for about $49.5 million, records show. The property had 107 units at the time and was branded as Rolling Hills Apartment Homes, though it has been remodeled and updated since then, per TRD. 

Koto is an affiliate of fellow Japanese real estate firms Success Pro and Satohide, per TRD. Its purchase of the Torrance complex is not the first time it’s acquired property in L.A.’s South Bay.

In early 2022, the company spent $44.5 million on a 178-key Residence Inn by Marriott, at 4111 East Willow Street in Long Beach, or $250,000 per room, according to TRD. Koto operates an office in El Segundo, Calif., according to state records.

A representative for Koto could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Bohlinger did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

As far L.A.’s multifamily market goes, the South Bay has seen rising investor demand. The multifamily vacancy rate in the region was on the lower end compared to its neighbors at 4.3 percent this past quarter, and rent prices have increased by a modest 1.4 percent quarter-over-quarter, according to a recent market report by CBRE. The region also saw positive absorption this past quarter by nearly 250 units, indicating solid demand for space. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.