The Carlyle Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CG) has bought another RV resort in metro Phoenix, after paying a record $88 million for a 1,119-space RV resort in Apache Junction in September.
The Washington, D.C.-based private equity giant paid $7.75 million for the 178-site Mesa Sunset RV Resort, 9252 E. Broadway Road in Mesa at a time when RV resorts are becoming a must-have asset for investors.
Derek Harris, founder and principal of Harri5, represented the buyer, Mesa Sunset Owner LLC, which traces to Carlyle Group, while Ross Cooper, owner of New Horizons Realty, represented the seller, Mesa-based Silver Sands Acquisitions LLC, which traces to Daniel Williamson.
Last September, Harris brokered Carlyle's $88 million acquisition, then another two manufactured housing communities totaling $32 million in October.
"In 2021, the focus of the institutional investors to acquire RV resorts across Harri5 Manufactured Housing & Commercial Brokerage national platform is moving at an accelerated pace compared to 2020," Harris said.
The deal closed Feb. 1.
"There is a tremendous amount of money chasing this product type, and I think for good reason," Cooper said. "It's through upturns and downturns in the economy RV resorts have done exceptionally well. When you look at the demographics of what is happening in the metro Phoenix area, it becomes an even more compelling story."
RV units have become even more popular with consumers during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by the RV Industry Association.
RV shipments reached 430,412 wholesale units in 2020, and are projected to surpass 502,000 units in 2021, according to the Winter 2020 RV RoadSigns prepared by ITR Economics for the RV Industry Association.
