While U.S. housing prices are finally starting to drop, rising interest rates, an uncertain economy and continued supply issues are keeping millions of Americans from embracing homeownership. As they wait for the white-hot housing market to cool down, many of these prospective buyers are choosing to rent single-family homes, causing the single-family rental market to soar.

In 2021, The New York Times reported that build-to-rent homes — single-family homes constructed expressly for the purpose of renting — made up 6% of all new houses under construction in the U.S. and predicted that number would double in the next 10 years.

Today, institutional investors are taking notice. According to recent research conducted by MetLife Investment Management, institutions own an estimated 700,000 single-family rentals in 2022, roughly 5% of the nation’s 14 million SFRs. By 2030, MIM predicts that institutions will increase SFR holdings to 7.6 million homes, which represents more than 40% of all SFRs.

Clearly, the demand for SFRs is on the rise, but many commercial real estate professionals may still be in the dark when it comes to this growing asset class. To shed some light on the burgeoning SFR market, Bisnow’s sponsored content department, Studio B, teamed up with Lending One to identify the power players who are bringing it to life.

The team analyzed securitization data, public records and the number of assets under management to determine which companies are currently dominating the world of SFRs. Read on to learn more.

80,000 Properties

Texas-based Invitation Homes purchased its first house in 2012. Today, the company owns more than 80,000 homes across 16 U.S. cities. Invitation’s February 2017 IPO was the second-largest REIT public offering in U.S. history, raising more than $1.7B. That fall, the company merged with Scottsdale, Arizona-based Starwood Waypoint Homes and became the largest institutional owner of single-family rental homes in the country.

70,000 Properties

Pretium is a specialized investment manager with $44.1B in assets under management as of March 31, 2022, focused on real estate, mortgage finance and corporate debt. Progress Residential, a Pretium subsidiary, is one of the largest providers of SFR homes, with a portfolio that includes more than 70,000 SFR properties in 30 major markets across the U.S.

58,961 Properties

Formed in 2012, American Homes 4 Rent began by acquiring, renovating and leasing single-family homes in communities across the country. Since then, the company has launched its own homebuilding operation and now owns 58,961 single-family properties in the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and Mountain West regions of the U.S., with more than 200,000 residents.

In 2022, American Homes 4 Rent was named the 41st-top homebuilder in the U.S. by BUILDER magazine. The company was also recognized for its sustainability practices —  American Homes 4 Rent's newly constructed homes are designed to use 40% less energy than the typical existing U.S. home.

52,00 Properties

Real estate investment and development firm Amherst currently has $16.2B in assets under management across 32 U.S. markets. The company renovates existing homes and builds new single-family homes, with the goal of owning and operating the properties as rentals.

According to the Amherst site, its “flexible, vertically integrated platform allows [Amherst] to on-board assets at any point in the development lifecycle and to assemble a customized investment opportunity to meet the risk-adjusted needs of our investors.” As of June 2022, the firm had acquired more than 52,000 homes and spent $1.3B on renovations.

44,500 Properties 

In 2015, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management founded FirstKey Homes, which provides acquisition and property management services for a wide range of single-family rental homes across 20 U.S. cities. FirstKey Homes recently completed a $964.4M securitization on 2,528 income-producing properties. The subject transaction was the ninth-rated securitization issued by FirstKey Homes.

41,000 Properties

Toronto-based Tricon Residential owns more than 41,000 single-family and multifamily rental homes across the U.S. and Canada. The firm manages these properties through an integrated technology-enabled operating platform. In total, Tricon has an estimated $16.4B in assets under management and is primarily focused on the Sun Belt, where 90% of the company’s $8.6B in third-party assets under management are located.

21,00 Properties

VineBrook, managed by NexPoint Real Estate Advisors, is a single-family rental company that owns more than 21,000 homes in 23 markets across the U.S. The company specializes in the acquisition, renovation and leasing of SFRs, with an emphasis on affordability.

17,000 Properties 

Home Partners of America has purchased more than 28,000 homes in 2,200 cities across the country. Through the company’s unique program, prospective tenants are matched with a home for sale that Home Partners of America will then purchase and lease out to them for a set rental price.

At the end of a one-year lease term, renters are given the option to renew for another year or walk away with no penalties. Residents are also given the option to purchase the home at any point in time during the lease, or they can continue to rent for up to five years in most states.

10,000 Properties

Conrex, a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, started in 2011 as a proptech company for single-family rentals. Today, it is a full-service acquisition, renovation and property management company throughout the South and the Midwest with more than 10,000 single-family properties. The company is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and currently operates in more than 26 cities.

4,000 Properties 

Bluerock Residential Growth is an externally managed real estate investment trust created to build a portfolio of infill first-ring suburban single-family rental homes in what the company describes as “knowledge-economy and high quality of life growth” markets in the U.S. Specifically, Bluerock targets middle-market single-family home renters in the Sun Belt and Western parts of the country.

The company’s initial portfolio consists of interests in approximately 4,000 homes, including 2,300 operating homes, 1,800 scattered-site/clustered properties, 500 build-to-rent homes and 1,600 stabilized and under development/lease-up houses.

4,000 Properties 

Active investment management firm Man Group provides long-only, alternative and private markets products on a single and multi-manager basis. Across its investment managers, the firm manages more than $134B for its global clients, with institutional investors contributing 79% of the group’s funds under management.

In February 2022, Man Global Private Markets, Man Group’s private markets investment business, announced a partnership with Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors to build around 1,000 net zero energy build-to-rent properties across the U.S. over the next several years. The partnership's first project, in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the first institutionally backed build-to-rent net-zero energy single-family rental community in the country.