Bain Capital Enters $300M BTR Venture
The partners will focus on developing affordable communities.
Wrightwell, formerly Vantage, has partnered with Bain Capital’s insurance team and Saluda Grade to invest up to $300 million in affordable single-family rental and build-to-rent housing. Concurrently, the firm has closed its latest funding round.
The partnership will concentrate on developing and expanding affordable housing options for lower- and middle-income families.
Wrightwell appointed several new key figures to spearhead the investment platform’s SFR efforts. Chris Poston was tapped as Executive Vice President of Property and Asset Management. Poston had previously been a part of Rothesay Life.
Additionally, Erin Taylor joined as Executive Vice President of Finance & Accounting. In March, Taylor’s previous employer—Fundrise—secured a $770 million credit facility from J.P. Morgan to develop 35 build-to-rent projects across the Sun Belt.
READ ALSO: How SFR Investors Can Stay Ahead of the Curve
Against the backdrop of a mostly uneventful 2024, during which the build-to-rent sector mirrored multifamily trends, the outlook for next year paints a livelier picture for BTR. Sudha Reddy, founder & managing principal at Haven Realty Capital, expects BTR transactions to pick up the pace, should interest rates continue trending lower.
Moreover, the limited SFR project starts of 2023 and 2024 will restrict a supply expansion in the coming years, allowing for a favorable rent growth environment, Reddy added. Indeed, Yardi Matrix also expects a slowdown in BTR deliveries throughout 2025 and 2026, with 30,236 rental homes forecasted to debut next year and 18,632 the year after—a decline from 2024’s peak of 32,407 BTR units.
BTR investment targets suburban markets in 2024
However, the sector’s luster was not entirely lost to developers and investors this year. In July, Pretium closed its sixth BTR fund, raising $1.5 billion and exceeding its target. The investment vehicle targets communities and homes in suburban markets experiencing above-average population and economic growth.
Earlier this year, Bain Capital entered a joint venture with Cherry Tree Capital Partners to develop single-family rental projects throughout Southern California. At the time, the venture’s goal was to acquire, entitle and develop land across high-growth suburban markets.
