Loving the marble countertops... Blackstone is a major investment firm, but it also knows a thing or two about landlord-ing: it owns $378B worth of real estate, including Chicago's Willis Tower and Vegas' MGM Grand. Now it's splurging on single-family homes. Blackstone is dropping $6B to buy Home Partners of America, a company that buys and rents 17K+ homes. Home Partners also offers tenants a chance to buy their rental. ICYMI: home-buying is trending.
Some like it hot... Housing market, style. Last year, US home sales soared at their fastest pace in 14 years. Fueling the wild demand: mortgages are cheaper thanks to lower interest rates, and remote/flexible work is allowing people to move to the 'burbs. Recently, that's led to:
Blackstone's investment shows confidence... in the continued rise of the housing market. While sales are slowing, the market is still red-hot — and home-lennials are expected to continue fueling growth for years to come. But a surge could price out regular families, while driving up rent prices (higher rent = great for Blackstone). A number of factors could cool the housing market's rise, including interest rate fears, inflation, and rising prices.