California billionaire bets on rentals with Wake home-buying spree [View all]

[WorseBeforeBetter]

The dream buyer is American Homes 4 Rent, a Malibu, Calif., company that since late December has paid nearly $13.3 million in cash for 81 houses in Wake County, according to property records. The company, which formed last year, is one of several firms hoping to profit from rising home prices by amassing thousands of single-family homes across the country and converting them into rentals.

Such companies have raised billions from pension funds, private equity firms and other institutional investors to fuel their buying sprees. To date, these companies have focused their attention mainly on markets with large inventories of distressed homes, particularly in Arizona, Florida, Nevada and California.

What’s noteworthy about American Homes 4 Rent’s buying binge in Wake County is that it isn’t just targeting distressed properties, or even existing homes. About a third of its purchases have been new homes acquired directly from homebuilders.

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Institutional investors have invested at least $5.4 billion for purchase of single-family rentals nationwide during the past 18 months, according to Barclays, and an additional $8 billion is expected to be invested within the next couple of years. American Homes 4 Rent’s buying spree is being financed in part by a $600 million investment from the Alaska Permanent Fund, a $45 billion fund that invests royalties the state collects from oil companies.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/02/23/2702528/california-billionaire-bets-on.html#storylink=cpy

This will end well.