Colony American, which owns 16,000 homes, declined to comment, according to Owen Blicksilver, an outside spokesman for the Scottsdale, Arizona-based landlord. American Homes 4 Rent Chief Financial Officer Peter Nelson didn’t reply to a phone message seeking comment.
American Residential Properties Inc., a landlord with 6,000 homes, slowed acquisitions by almost half in its latest quarter ending Dec. 31. It invested $104 million in 633 homes compared with $204 million on 1,251 homes in the previous quarter, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company said in a statement.
“We intend to maintain the pace of our acquisition activity at roughly the same rate we had in the fourth quarter,” CEO Stephen Schmitz said in an earnings conference call yesterday.
Ramping Up
Some corporate rental companies are still focused on growth.
“We’ve been ramping up acquisitions,” David Miller, CEO of Silver Bay Realty Trust, which owned 5,642 homes as of Dec. 31, said in a conference call with investors last week.
“Looking ahead, we plan to acquire in Florida and Texas while opportunistically adding properties to our Atlanta market and perhaps other markets as well.”
While their acquisitions slow, Blackstone and Colony are extending their reach into the rental business by offering financing to smaller landlords. Last month, Blackstone’s B2R Finance LP originated its first loan for $5.7 million and Colony formed a joint-venture with plans to originate $1 billion in landlord financing this year.
Both companies plan to package the loans as mortgage-backed securities, similar to Blackstone’s $479 million bond issue in October, the first securitization of single-family rental properties.
Long Haul