Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman: ‘We have a lot of money and like to buy things’

Stephen Schwarzman, one of real estate’s biggest tastemakers, is providing insight into what his firm is thinking about at the start of the year.

The Blackstone chair recently appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he discussed what opportunities he’s seeing in the global market. Schwarzman also dove into the asset classes catching his eye.

Schwarzman said he thought his company is “going to be a lot more active in ‘24 than we have been.” That activity, however, may be concentrated across the Atlantic Ocean, as the Blackstone chair cited European real estate as being “very interesting.”

In the United States, Schwarzman doesn’t view the forecast with the same optimism — at least not immediately. He said that he didn’t envision good real estate opportunities right away, as compared to Europe.

“We are one of the few people in the world who have a lot of money and like to buy things,” Schwarzman said, adding that the company is resisting offers to buy portfolios because of its interest in a limited number of real estate asset classes. Those include industrial real estate and student housing.

A Blackstone-led venture is trying to sell commercial property loans made by Signature Bank only weeks after the investment giant and its partners bought a stake in the loan pool. The $1.8 billion worth of performing loans are largely backed by multi-family properties.

Last week, Blackstone agreed to acquire major single-family rental landlord Tricon Residential for $3.5 billion, or $11.25 per share. The bet furthers Blackstone’s belief in the single-family rental sector, which includes the $6 billion acquisition of Home Partners of America three years ago.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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