SAN JOSE — A deal involving an apartment complex in South San Jose that was bought for well over $300 million hints at a strengthening market for South Bay residential properties despite some difficulties in the region.
Ascent, a 650-unit apartment complex at 5805 Charlotte Dr., was bought for $322.8 million by a group that includes California nonprofit Pacific Housing, according to documents filed on Dec. 22 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
The buying group obtained a $177.5 million loan from Walker & Dunlop, a company that specializes in financing commercial real estate properties. Shea Properties, acting through an affiliate, sold the complex.
Multiple other apartment properties in the vicinity have been bought in recent months and years, including the nearby 234-unit ViO residential hub at 5700 Village Oaks Dr. that was bought for $100 million in September, county files show.
Ascent was bought at a price of about $496,500 per unit. That is slightly above the price of $427,400 a unit for the ViO apartment complex, which is across the street.
Both Ascent and ViO were built in 2016 and both are adjacent to Village Oaks Shopping Center, which is anchored by a Safeway supermarket. Numerous relatively new stores and restaurants are next to both residential hubs.
The two apartment properties also sold for more than their most recent assessed value, although the assessed value is just one metric that can be used to gauge a property’s worth.
Ascent was bought at a price that was 17.4% higher than the assessed value of $275 million in January 2025. The ViO apartment property fetched a price that was 2.4% above its estimated assessed value.
These hopeful signs have emerged despite financial setbacks for apartment properties elsewhere in San Jose.
The Fay, a 336-unit, 23-story apartment tower in downtown San Jose that opened in December 2024, faces foreclosure due to a delinquent $182.5 million construction loan.
The Neo on First, a 50-unit complex in San Jose that’s just south of downtown, is in default on a $21 million loan and also faces foreclosure on its financing.
