NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lafayette Real Estate, one of the country’s leading and longest standing single-family rental asset managers, announced today a land acquisition with plans to develop a build-to-rent (BTR) community called Grand Reserve in the Tampa suburb of New Port Richey, Florida. This marks the 15th transaction the firm has executed since launching its latest BTR program in 2023, representing more than 1,000 units and $300 million of capital in seven metropolitan areas across the U.S. sunbelt at a time when many other developers have remained on the sidelines due to capital constraints.
“Despite a persistent bid-ask spread between buyers and sellers, we’ve been able to be creative and adapt our strategy to focus on sourcing land directly and building out our internal homebuilding capabilities, while maintaining strong relationships with our homebuilder partners,” said Thibault Adrien, CEO at Lafayette. “The housing supply crisis is deep, and high interest rates continue to keep some developers and homebuyers on the sidelines, restricting the amount of new supply coming online. That created an opportunity for us to step in and develop well-located parcels to build attainable single-family housing for families that choose to rent. In doing so, we contribute to helping fix the housing shortage burdening the middle class.”
Despite the challenging fundraising environment, Lafayette has remained one of the most active BTR developers in the country. This activity is critical now more than ever as Hunter Housing Economics reports that BTR deliveries are projected to be down by one-third year-over-year in 2024, which will do little to accommodate growing demand for rental housing driven by a variety of secular trends, including growing household formation and an eroding affordability.
“Grand Reserve is located in a sought-after suburb of Tampa with high population density, low BTR supply in the area relative to what we typically see in the Northeast and Southeast Tampa, and highly-rated neighborhood schools, supporting what we expect will be strong performance,” said Chris Mataja, Lafayette’s Chief Operating Officer. “Tampa is one of a dozen markets we’ve identified across the southern U.S. that are supply constrained with strong demographic trends.”
The land at Grand Reserve is fully entitled and shovel ready, and Lafayette’s vertically integrated homebuilder, Marquis Homes, is prepared to launch construction. Development is expected to begin this month, with first deliveries slated to occur in the first quarter of 2026. Lafayette’s affiliate, Brandywine Homes USA, will handle lease-up and property management for the community as the homes are completed.
About Lafayette Real Estate
Lafayette is a pioneer in the single-family rental (SFR) and Build-to-Rent (BTR) space. In 2023, industry peers voted Lafayette as the Best SFR company in the US as well as CEO of the year for Thibault Adrien, at the annual IMN Awards. Launched in 2011, Lafayette has a track record of 21% average net IRRs across four realized funds while maintaining a high level of resident satisfaction, with average renewal rates in excess of 70%. Lafayette’s operations are vertically integrated, including asset management, property management (Brandywine Homes USA) and development & construction (Marquis Homes) professionals. Today, Lafayette has $1.3bn in AUM, consisting of a portfolio of over 5,000 homes mainly in the US sunbelt. For more information, visit lafayette-re.com.