Lennar Becomes Latest Builder to Invest Big in Built-for-Rent Housing

Lennar is the latest home builder giant diving into the single-family built-for-rent market, hoping to raise $2 billion for this next endeavor. The single-family built-for-rent sector has grown tremendously during the pandemic as single-family home prices and consumer demand for suburban living increased and housing inventory and mortgage rates tumbled. Lenner joins other single-family rental home investors Blackstone Group, Brookfield Asset Management, and JP Morgan Chase & Co. Bloomberg says there may be a new sector of Lennar in the works, LennarSFR, though no formal announcements have been made by the company.

Lennar, the largest homebuilder by revenue, appears to be building capability to manage a rental-home division internally. An executive named John Gray, who previously served as a managing director in Lennar’s apartment business, took on the title of president of LennarSFR in August, according to his LinkedIn profile.

And the company is currently hiring for an associate “interested in building a large business” to work on acquisitions, asset management and deal structuring, among other duties.

Large Landlord
The new single-family rental push would likely put Lennar among the largest landlords in the industry.

Last January, Executive Chairman Stuart Miller told investors that the company was in the early stages of developing branded single-family rental communities intended for people who want suburban homes but aren’t ready to make a down payment.

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