CX Multifamily Portfolio, DST – The Retreat at Fairhope Village

A 240-unit garden-style multifamily complex located in a desirable, high-growth sub-market on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Retreat at Fairhope Village was built in 2020 and spans 21.6 acres and provides convenient access to US-98, a direct route to Mobile to the north and Pensacola to the south.

Fairhope, situated on the banks of Mobile Bay, provides a mix of small-town coastal charm and idyllic suburban comfort, which is one reason Southern Living magazine named this “Beauty on the Bay” one of the South’s Prettiest Towns in 2018. Scenic beaches, boat access, and sunset strolls on the boardwalk make Fairhope Municipal Pier a popular destination. From the pier, flower-filled Fairhope Avenue leads into Fairhope’s historic downtown for antiques, boutiques, galleries, fine dining, First Friday Art Walks, and the quaint neighborhood shops of the French Quarter. Fairhope’s family-friendly Mardi Gras celebrations bring big, colorful parades to Fairhope, Baldwin County, and across the bay to the birthplace of American Mardi Gras: Mobile. Less than an hour drive from Fairhope is the city of Gulf Shores, one of the “Greatest Beach Towns in America” according to Thrillist.

The Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL MSA, which is synonymous with Baldwin County, claims the title of Alabama’s “undisputed king of growth”. Over the past decade, Baldwin County was the fastest growing county in Alabama increasing in population by 22.5%, while the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley MSA was the 11th-fastest-growing in the U.S. By comparison, Alabama experienced a 2.6% growth over the same period, and the U.S. grew by 6.3%. The city of Fairhope has even outpaced this “king of growth” as it grew by nearly 40% from 2010 to 2019, currently making up about one-tenth of the county’s  population with a total population of 22,677. The renter-occupied housing rate is 21.9% in Fairhope and 24.8% in Baldwin County. The median monthly cost of owning a home with a mortgage in Fairhope is 41% higher than the median gross rent of $1,196. However, while rents are higher in Fairhope and Baldwin County than across Alabama (with a median gross rent of $792), higher median incomes offset housing costs while professional jobs and business growth may provide more opportunities for upward mobility. Average annual rent growth in Baldwin County from 2012 to Q1 2021 was 3.7%, which is higher than the national annual rate of 3.1%. Quarterly occupancy rates in Baldwin County have remained stable at around 95% since 2011, and from Q2 2020 to Q1 2021, remained stable at 95.8%.