As apartment prices reset across the U.S. West, two Southern California real estate firms are betting that market dislocation will create the next wave of multifamily buying opportunities.
Los Angeles-based Arselle Investments and Amoroso Companies have launched a multifamily investment venture called Amonte Living aimed at buying apartment properties across the biggest Western U.S. markets.
The Southern California firms said the partnership plans to acquire up to $500 million of multifamily assets over the next two to three years and has already purchased three properties totaling about $90 million in greater Los Angeles.
The venture combines Amoroso’s long operating history with Arselle’s institutional investment background, positioning the group to pursue opportunities created by shifting pricing and slower transaction activity across the apartment sector.
“This is a compelling time to invest in multifamily assets,” Arselle Founder and Managing Partner Aaron Greeno told CoStar News. “Supply is rationalizing in many markets with fundamentals stabilizing, but there continues to be pressure on many overleveraged owners, which should continue to drive attractive acquisition opportunities in the sector.”
The three acquisitions completed in 2025 include Alur, a 51-unit complex in Pasadena purchased for $22 million; Sofi Topanga, a 119-unit property in Chatsworth acquired for $44 million, and Terraces at La Cienega, a 48-unit community in West Hollywood bought for $23 million.
The partners said they are focused on properties in supply-constrained markets where assets can be purchased below replacement cost and positioned for long-term cash flow and appreciation.
Apartment sales are picking up as buyers seek to capitalize on nationwide values that remain about 20% below their peak and construction starts that are at their lowest level in more than a decade before supply and demand rebalance, according to CoStar research.
West Coast strategy
The venture’s early deals have focused on Southern California, where Greeno said regulatory hurdles and high construction costs create barriers to new supply.
“These are infill, defensive locations with huge discounts to replacement cost,” he said. “That’s where we really like the risk-adjusted returns.”
Beyond Southern California, the partnership is spending significant time in Seattle, Phoenix and Denver, each for different reasons tied to job growth and supply patterns.
Seattle’s appeal is driven by technology and artificial intelligence hiring, while Phoenix is viewed as a long-term demographic growth market recovering from recent oversupply.
“You’ve got markets behaving very differently,” Greeno said. “It’s really about picking your pockets and understanding the right entry point in each one.”
Greeno acknowledged regulatory risks in California, including local housing rules, but said those factors are now largely priced into valuations.
“A lot of institutional investors paint Southern California with the same brush and say they won’t touch it,” he said. “The reality is that a lot of that risk is priced in if you underwrite conservatively.”
Investing together
Arselle Investments and Amoroso Companies will continue to operate separately, while the new Amonte venture will target deals together.
Arselle Investments was formed in early 2025 by Greeno and Kevork Zoryan after decades working together at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, where they oversaw national acquisition and asset management strategies across multiple market cycles.
Greeno began his career at Morgan Stanley in 2007 just before the financial crisis and later returned to Los Angeles after earning his JD and MBA from UCLA, eventually becoming co-head of U.S. investments while Zoryan served as head of U.S. asset management.
After leaving Morgan Stanley, Greeno spent five years building and leading West Coast operations for Dune Real Estate Partners before reuniting with Zoryan to launch Arselle as a more entrepreneurial investment firm.
“We wanted to build something unique rather than just another private equity shop or pure operating company,” Greeno said. “The idea was to invest through operating partners and bring institutional experience to help them grow.”
Amoroso Companies, founded in 1978, is a third-generation, family-owned real estate firm that has developed, owned or operated nearly 8,000 multifamily units and invested about $550 million across residential, hospitality, medical office and self-storage assets, primarily in the Western United States.
Greeno said the partnership works because the firms bring complementary strengths, combining Amoroso’s on-the-ground operating platform with Arselle’s capital markets and investment background.
“They have decades of pride of ownership and operating expertise,” he said. “We bring capital markets relationships and institutional discipline, and together it’s been a powerful combination.”