Blackstone Group has bought its first portfolio of communities, sources said
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An institutional asset manager has acquired its first portfolio of manufactured housing communities as this area of real estate is in favor among investors given increasing homebuilding costs, according to a Bloomberg report.
Sources with knowledge of the transaction told the publication that Blackstone Group has bought its first set of communities as its first bet on the manufactured housing sector.
Tricon Capital Group disclosed earlier in July that it sold 14 communities to an institutional asset manager for approximately $172 million. Tricon did not identify the buyer.
A representative from Blackstone declined Bloomberg’s request for comment, while a Tricon representative did not respond to the publication’s requests.
Investors have been increasingly interested in manufactured housing communicates, partly because of the growing costs of homebuilding. According to US Census Bureau data, new manufactured homes in the US had an average price of $73,400 as of February.
Blackstone’s entry into the manufactured housing space follows that of other institutional investors.
In 2016, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore was part of a group that bought a majority stake in YES! Communities. Centerbridge Partners, Apollo Global Management, and Carlyle Group have also been active in the sector.
Analysts with Evercore ISI expect continued strength in manufactured housing fundamentals, according to the report. Core same-store net operating income growth is projected to be with 4% to 4.5% per year over the next three years. The forecast is substantially higher than the projected average growth of 2.5% that Evercore ISS expects of US REITs.
