Ethos Real Estate's purchase of a luxury apartment complex in Silicon Valley's largest city late last year for almost $323 million was one of the tech region's priciest multifamily deals in several years.
The transaction marked the second apartment complex sale in the region to top $300 million in the latter months of 2025, as the artificial intelligence boom continued to drive up rents in what was already one of the least affordable regions of the United States.
The buyer, Ethos Real Estate, aims to address California's critical housing shortage via a new approach using investment structures that leverage private capital for the production of housing at all income levels. It specializes in converting and preserving large apartment communities as mixed-income or affordable housing, often through joint ventures with institutional investors and public-private partnerships.
It partnered on the Ascent acquisition with Pacific Housing, a nonprofit that joins with private developers to promote affordable multifamily projects via a variety of financing programs. Their purchase of the sprawling 650-unit complex in South San Jose garnered a 2026 CoStar Impact Award from a panel of industry professionals with knowledge of the market.
The Ascent apartments are already on San Jose's housing portal listing income-restricted units for low- and moderate-income residents struggling to afford the city's rising rents; they have reached an average of almost $3,300 per month as the AI boom brings more workers to the area and heats up competition for housing.
About the deal: Ethos and Pacific Housing plan to convert some market-rate units at the Ascent complex to income-restricted housing for residents earning no more than 80% of the area median income, thereby expanding the supply of much-needed affordable housing in Silicon Valley, one of the nation's priciest rental markets. Built in 2016 by Shea Properties, Ascent is near major tech companies and a grocery-anchored shopping center. It has a fitness center, a swimming pool, a sundeck and spa, a clubhouse and an outdoor lounge as well as a dog park and pet spa, themed courtyards and a playground.
What the judges said: "This type of investment is especially impactful in Silicon Valley, where rental rates remain among the highest in the nation, and affordable housing options are critically limited," said Compass Commercial Senior Vice President Devon Stout.
They made it happen: Philip Saglimbeni, Salvatore Saglimbeni, Stanford Jones, Alexander Tartaglia and Robert LeDoux of International Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, played a pivotal role in the deal, representing the seller, Shea Properties.