JPMorgan showers single-family rental partnership with cash

JPMorgan Chase is pouring more money into its partnership with single-family rental business American Homes 4 Rent.

The bank’s asset management arm, the Strategic Property Fund, is increasing its investment with the landlord to $625 million from $250 million, according to Bloomberg. They formed the $250 million partnership earlier this year.

American Homes 4 Rent announced the deal in tandem with its first-quarter results. The firm’s total revenues increased 3.7 percent year-over-year to $289.3 million, indicating that the coronavirus pandemic did not have a major impact on performance.

While the brunt of the pandemic’s impact on real estate is expected to show in the second quarter, American Homes 4 Rent also announced that it has collected 95 percent and 82 percent of April and May rents, respectively.

American Homes 4 Rent has temporarily suspended most, if not all, of its acquisitions, but continues to build rental homes in markets where construction has been allowed to continue. Pandemic-related delays have occurred, though; the company expects to deliver 1,000 to 1,200 rentals this year, down from earlier projections of 1,200 to 1,500.

The company acquired a net of 224 homes in the first quarter, bringing its portfolio up to nearly 53,000 rentals.

American Homes 4 Rent was founded by B. Wayne Hughes during the last financial crisis, when home ownership fell. The single-family home rental business grew significantly in the years following the crisis and several major real estate players, including Blackstone, got in on the business. [Bloomberg] — Dennis Lynch