BlackRock is the new landlord for 3,620 Southern California apartment units after buying Camden Property Trust's entire 11-property portfolio for $1.6 billion, the largest U.S. multifamily deal in more than two years.

The sale, announced Aug. 5 and first detailed by the Los Angeles Business Journal on Monday, Aug. 24, ends Camden's 28-year presence in California. The Houston-based real estate investment trust is redirecting proceeds to Sun Belt markets, with CEO Alexander Jessett citing California's regulatory costs as the reason for the exit.

The portfolio includes The Camden Hollywood, a 287-unit building at 1540 North Vine St. with 39,000 square feet of retail space anchored by an Equinox gym, which sold for $141 million. Camden Harbor View in Long Beach, the largest property at 538 units, fetched $233 million. Camden Glendale, 307 units at 3900 San Fernando Road, went for $136 million.

Other properties span Orange and San Diego counties, including the 380-unit Camden Crown Valley in Mission Viejo and the 469-unit Camden Landmark in Ontario, which accounts for 5% of that city's market-rate apartments above 100 units.

The portfolio was 96% occupied at the time of sale, according to JLL broker Blake Rogers, whose team arranged the transaction.

"One thing I've learned after going through the California transaction is there is still a really, really, really strong bid for quality multifamily," Jessett said in an interview with Multifamily Dive.

At Camden's most recent earnings call, Jessett said the regulatory and advocacy costs his company faced in California would have reduced the portfolio's annual net operating income by roughly 80 basis points. He confirmed Camden used $1 billion to acquire Sun Belt properties through 1031 exchanges and spent $700 million buying back its own shares, deploying more than the $1.625 billion in sale proceeds.

BlackRock, meanwhile, is doubling down on Los Angeles-area housing. Derek Helgeson, co-head of U.S. real estate at BlackRock, called Southern California one of the most "durable" multifamily markets in the country. The firm had already acquired the 142-unit Santal Thousand Oaks apartments in fall 2025 for $83 million.

Los Angeles-based Cityview will manage the 11 properties going forward, according to a Cityview spokesperson. BlackRock secured $566.6 million in acquisition loans for seven of the properties; the lender was not disclosed.

The deal represents more than 16% of Southern California's five-year average annual apartment transaction volume by unit count, per JLL. No local multifamily sale has been larger since KKR's $2.1 billion purchase in June 2024. CBRE projects U.S. multifamily investment volume will rise 20% in 2026.

No rent increase plans have been announced for the 3,620 units under new ownership.