A California-based investment company has acquired five student rental homes near Gonzaga University.

McGarry Strategic Enterprises LLC, an investment company based in San Diego, purchased five contiguous student rental homes located near the southwest corner of Sinto Avenue and Lidgerwood Street, specifically on the 200 block of east Sinto Avenue and the 1300 block of north Lidgerwood Street.

The properties are at 218 E. Sinto, 224 E. Sinto, 228 E. Sinto, 1311 N. Lidgerwood, and 1317 N. Lidgerwood.

Altogether, the properties sold for $2.49 million, according to Spokane County Assessor’s Office records.

Guy D. Byrd, owner and managing director of Spokane real estate brokerage SVN Cornerstone LLC, was the former owner and represented himself in the transaction.

Byrd says he and his wife had owned the properties since the early 1990s, and decided it was time to sell.

“We don’t get the same financial benefit that we did when we first bought them,” he says. “Financially, it was time to move to a different investment.”

He says McGarry is a family investment group that plans to continue to rent the properties out to students.

“One of the family members had attended Gonzaga about 12 years ago,” he says, adding that the group understood the value of the properties in that neighborhood.

Rental housing, especially student housing, remains a hot commodity for investors, Byrd adds.

“There’s a continual market of people who are looking for those types of (student) housing properties,” contends Byrd. “With Gonzaga there, they typically lead the rental market on what you get on a per-room basis.”