The number of new multifamily properties — mostly townhomes and condominiums — listed for sale was down 14 percent in the Orlando area during the first quarter from a year earlier, according to a new report by Charles Wayne Consulting.

The real-estate research firm reported 459 units listed during the quarter, down from 531 a year earlier. The average price of the units rose 14 percent to $214,200 during that time.

“The multifamily for-sale segment of the market has gone through considerable transition over the last 10 years,” said Jim Lewis, president of the consulting group.

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Orlando’s residential construction has returned to a normal mix of about one-third multifamily and two-thirds single-family after trending toward townhomes and condos at the peak of the market.

“In some submarkets of Greater Orlando, the availability of multifamily product has become quite limited,” Lewis said. “We are indeed seeing more new projects on the drawing boards and going through entitlement now.” 

Housing construction, meanwhile, showed gains of 14 percent in the region during the first quarter from a year earlier, the report stated. During the first three months of the year, work started on 2,167 houses in the area. And single-family home closings were up 40 percent from the first quarter of 2013.

Construction

Crescent Communities is building the Crescent Gateway apartment community at its Gateway project, an 80-acre, mixed-used development expected to open in the summer of 2015 at Maitland Boulevard and State Road 434 in Altamonte Springs.

The 8-acre apartment site will have 294 units. The general contractor is Crescent Multifamily Construction, and the architect is Charlan Brock and Associates.

Sales

•Rick Gonzalez, with Crosby Associates, and Jerry McGratty, broker with Westhampton Realty, represented the buyer in the $1.03 million sale of 24 acres at the southeast corner of Binion and Harmon roads in Apopka. The buyer, GoGrowth One LLC, is managed by Michael Kirchner of Winter Park. It had been the Driftwood Gardens Nursery site. The seller was Farm Credit of Central Florida. The location is part of an enterprise zone that’s planned as a research park.

•Douglas K. Mandel, vice president of investments for Marcus Millichap in Fort Lauderdale, and Ray Turchi, a senior associate for the firm in Orlando, represented institutional buyers and sellers in the $25.7 million purchase of 200 Celebration Place, a nine-story building with 166,131 square feet in Celebration. It is fully leased to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Leases

Michael Heidrich, a principal at NAI Realvest, represented the New York-based Eckstein Properties LLC in industrial leases at South Seminole Industrial Center, Longwood. Gamus LLC of Lynwood, Wash., leased 10,377 square feet there with Jason Toll, of NAI, representing the tenant.

mshanklin@tribune.com or 407-420-5538