A 60-unit apartment complex just five blocks from the beach in Santa Monica sold recently for $26.5 million, or nearly $442,000 a unit.

Local multifamily landlords Thomas Yu and May Ling Yu of MLT Properties purchased the low-rise property at 3111 Fourth St. from a joint venture of M West Holdings of Sherman Oaks and GreenOak Real Estate of New York.

Though apartment buildings with 20 or fewer units routinely sell for more than $440,000 a unit in the beachside city, it’s rarer for larger buildings to reach that price. Only two other apartment buildings in the area with 50 or more units have ever sold for more. In 2010, a 52-unit building at 456 Santa Monica Blvd. sold for nearly $502,000 a unit; two years later, a 350-unit building at 2200 Colorado Blvd. sold for about $480,000 a unit.

Built in 1971, the Class C building on Fourth features 30 one-bedroom units and 30 two-bedroom units that range in rent from $1,800 a month to $3,200, according to CoStar Group Inc. The sellers recently spent $1.5 million to upgrade 19 of the units and build a rooftop sundeck. While there is a fitness center and coin-operated laundry on site, parking is limited to 36 spots.

Greg Harris, executive director of Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors division, represented the seller in the deal. He said the hot Santa Monica rental market, where rents rose on average by 8.5 percent in the last two years, was a major selling point for the property.

“The new owner is in an excellent position to benefit from continued rent growth and may add value by continuing the renovation program on the remaining 41 units,” he said.

Kevin Green and Joseph Grabiec of Institutional Property Advisors also represented the seller in the deal.