J.P. Morgan JV Forms BTR Development Firm
First order of business is the construction of almost 300 units in Tennessee.
Institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management together with principals of Georgia Capital and its homebuilding company—Paran Homes—have formed Laseter Development Group, a single-family rental development firm focused on the Southeast. J.P. Morgan and Georgia Capital each own a 50 percent stake.
Laseter will collaborate with outside partners to bring its projects online but also serve as general contractor for other SFR developments. The newly formed company already eyes two projects in Greater Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn., totaling 291 rental homes, which are set to break ground this year.
Founder Whit Marshall will serve as Laseter’s CEO. He has been a principal manager at Georgia Capital since 2008, while also co-founding Paran Homes in 2010.
READ ALSO: How BTR Communities Can Stem the Housing Crisis
With this deal, J.P. Morgan’s involvement in the BTR sector broadens beyond investment in already built assets, Tony McGill, financial adviser at J.P. Morgan told The Builder’s Daily Capital. The company has had its fair share of such agreements already.
For instance, institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan teamed up with Haven Realty Capital, forming a $415 million joint venture in 2022. The stated goal was to deploy capital toward SFR acquisitions and development worth more than $1 billion nationwide.
Georgia Capital and Paran Homes entered the BTR market in 2020 and have since built a portfolio of 10 such developments. During the same interval, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s footprint expanded on behalf of its institutional investors by 65 such U.S. communities worth nearly $2 billion.
SFR development abounds in the Southeast
The Southeast went through a pivotal 2024, with demand for rental housing spiking thanks to population growth spurred by migration patterns, Doug Faron, managing partner at Shoreham Capital, previously told Multi-Housing News.
Glancing into 2025’s SFR trends, Faron also believes in the opportunity provided by secondary and tertiary untapped Southeast markets. This chance may be further amplified through the engagement of home builders in the development of purpose-built BTR projects, according to TruAmerica Multifamily Senior Managing Director Mitch Rotta.
Developers are hard at work in the Southeast. Just this week, Turnbridge Equities secured $51 million in construction financing for a 302-unit SFR project in Knightdale, N.C., within the Research Triangle. Vertical construction is slated to kick off this year.
Last week, Balcara Group and PCCP teamed up for the 196-unit Balcara at Southshore Bay, a BTR development in Greater Tampa, Fla. The duo tapped home builder Lennar to assist with construction and the first rental homes are set to debut this August.
