British Colonial Apartments Photo courtesy Marcus & Millichap

The $26.5 million sale of two Amesbury apartment properties illustrates strong demand for workforce housing properties that have remained highly-occupied during the pandemic, brokers say.

The 183-unit Amesbury Collection has operated at over 98 percent occupancy and rent collection rates throughout the pandemic, according to Marcus & Millichap, which represented the seller and procured the buyer. The sales price works out to a capitalization rate of 5.2 percent.

Marcus & Millichap’s Evan Griffith and Tony Pepdjonovic brokered the transaction.

“We continue to see the workforce housing subsection of the multifamily sector to be the most resilient asset class,” Griffith said in a statement. 

The transaction includes the 111-unit British Colonial Apartments at 164 Whitehall Road and the 72-unit Amesbury Gardens at 106 Friend St.

AVN LLC and AAG Properties LLC, both of North Andover, are the buyers, according to Essex County Registry of Deeds filings. The seller was Ernest M. Cherry.