The Lenox at Patterson Place apartment complex in Durham has sold for $28.8 million, or $9.7 million more than the seller paid for the property just two years ago.

The Connor Group of Ohio bought the 292-unit complex in December 2009 for just over $19 million.

Lenox's new owner is Chicago-based Westdale Investment Partners.

The deal reflects the strong performance of the apartment sector in recent years, particularly newer properties in good locations. Lenox was built in 1999.

A number of firms that bought apartments in 2008 and 2009 are finding that those assets are now worth considerably more.

This week's $10.5 million sale of the Huntington Athletic Club Apartments in Morrisville wasn't the biggest Triangle apartment deal to close this month.

In another sign that buyers and sellers are finding some common ground,
the 292-unit Lenox @ Patterson Place Apartments in Durham was bought by
The Connor Group, an Ohio real estate company, on Dec. 1 for just over $20 million.

The price was 11 percent less than the seller, Equity Residential, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, paid for the property in February 2006.