Now that it is more obvious that pricing has slowed, there should be more potential sellers inching closer to the exits. But don’t expect any wholesale dumping of properties – they don’t have to sell, they’re not in a hurry, and they aren’t going to give it away!
Hat tip to Sol for sending this in from the nyt:
An excerpt:
A year ago, buying foreclosed homes to rent out was the sure-thing trade for investment firms backed by money from private equity companies, hedge funds and pension systems. But with the supply of cheap foreclosed homes dwindling, some early investors are looking to cash out a bit by flipping homes to competitors.
The Waypoint Real Estate Group, one of the first companies to raise money from private investors to buy foreclosed homes, is quietly shopping as many as 2,000 houses in California that it acquired in the last few years in several private investment funds, said three people who had been briefed on the matter but were not authorized to discuss it. The homes, which are largely rented, are being shown to other companies backed by investor money that have also scooped up distressed houses in states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Nevada.
Waypoint is considering selling about half of its 4,000 homes. Some of the biggest institutional investors in the market for foreclosed homes — companies like the Blackstone Group, American Homes 4 Rent and American Residential Properties — have slowed their pace of acquisitions in response to an increase in home prices and a dearth of foreclosed homes that do not require significant renovation.
Waypoint is following other early investors like the Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and Oaktree Capital Management, which have sold homes bought near the start of the financial crisis. But unlike Och-Ziff and Oaktree, Waypoint is not leaving the single-family home market. It is still managing more than 7,000 homes for a publicly traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, it formed last year with the Starwood Capital Group called Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust.
Comment
REDUS is unloading the inventory of a bankrupt builder in the West Valley area of Greater Phoenix. They have disrupted the market in one community by offering the properties about $10k below the other properties on the market. A number have sold. The other community is slower going because it’s further west, all by itself in the desert, and has not recovered as strongly yet. They have sold a couple.
The builder had developed, ready to build lots in both subdivisions. Haven’t researched the disposition of those yet. My guess is there are more houses in the far East Valley and Maricopa as well.