Residential real estate investment company Tricon Capital Group has acquired a 550 unit portfolio of homes in Charlotte, North Carolina for USD26m.
The portfolio was assembled over several decades by a private individual and has an occupancy rate of approximately 95 per cent.
Based on current rents in place and historical operating expenses, the purchase price equates to a cap rate of over 12.5 per cent (before maintenance/capex reserves).
Tricon is entering Charlotte in partnership with Lake Success Living, which has been active in Southeast Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) since 2009 and in Charlotte since mid-2012.
In addition to its Charlotte expansion, Tricon has also closed on a new partnership in Los Angeles, California with Turnstone, a company that has been active in the single-family rental and for-sale sectors since 1997 and is known for its well defined geographic focus, acquisition expertise and renovation acumen. This new partnership will begin acquiring homes in early 2013.
"As part of the expansion plan for our US single-family rental platform, we had identified Charlotte as a city with strong underlying population and employment growth fundamentals that serves as a regional hub for the southeastern US," says David Berman, Tricon's chairman and chief executive officer. "This portfolio acquisition came along at an opportune time and has allowed us to quickly become a local market leader. Over time we intend to drive additional value from this acquisition by increasing rents to market levels and renovating homes that turn over with the long-term goal of maximising rents and minimising on-going maintenance costs. In addition to Charlotte, we are excited about expanding into Los Angeles with Turnstone, an industry veteran with a stellar track record. As a whole, I am extremely pleased with the US single-family rental platform that we built over the course of 2012 and fully expect that we will experience continued success in 2013 and beyond."