FARGO (AP) - The president and founder of Tharaldson Cos., says he has sold 130 motels for $1.2 billion and could sell 200 more by year's end.

"It's a good time to sell," Gary Tharaldson said.

He said a thriving national real estate market pushed up the price investors are willing to pay.

Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, affiliated with New York-based Goldman, Sachs and Co., is buying the motels from Tharaldson and his family. The motels are spread across the country and include a number of mid-range and extended-stay brands.

Only two of the 130 - a Fairfield Inn in Minot and Comfort Inn in Jamestown - are in North Dakota.

The company's 300 Fargo employees are not expected to be affected, Tharaldson said.

Tharaldson Property Management Inc., Tharaldson's in-house management unit, will continue to manage the 130 motels sold so far and likely would continue to manage the others if they are sold, he said.

Before the sale to Whitehall, the Tharaldson organization owned 350 motels. Tharaldson and his family owned 150 of them, and company employees owned the other 200.

The Tharaldson family is selling 10 more hotels to Whitehall, besides the 130 already sold, increasing the deal to $1.3 billion for 140 motels, Tharaldson said.