Blackstone Winding Down Home Partners of America; Tricon to Manage SFR Assets

Blackstone is winding down Home Partners of America (HPA), and Tricon Residential will now take over management of the single-family rental company’s assets, Commercial Observer has learned. 

The move makes Tricon, already a Blackstone company, the sole single-family rental portfolio company for the private equity giant in the U.S.

“This transition is designed to enhance an already exceptional experience for both HPA and Tricon residents,” a Blackstone spokesperson said, confirming the development Monday but declining to comment further. 

HPA employees were told the news Friday but aren’t being let go immediately, sources familiar with the move said. Rather, the majority of HPA staff are being asked to stay on through March 2025 and will receive retention packages that include their salaries, year-end bonuses and severance, plus payments to cover the extension of health care benefits and other outplacement support. 

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust acquired HPA for $6 billion in June 2021, to help expand HPA’s ability to offer high-quality rental housing to lower-income households. With Tricon now in the driver’s seat, residents of rental properties managed by HPA should feel the benefits of a management company with more scale and stronger regional footprints, as well as faster response times, sources said.

The strategy follows a pattern for Blackstone of having one main portfolio company for each of its core themes and sectors. The streamlining allows the company to leverage talent, data, local market expertise and operating know-how for the benefit of — in the case of Tricon — residents and investors.

 “Home Partners of America is proud of the access to single-family living and paths to homeownership that our groundbreaking programs have created for thousands of people since 2012,” an HPA spokesperson said in a statement. “We are confident that Tricon’s excellent leadership and resident-focused approach will help our residents continue to succeed.”

In January, Blackstone announced it would be acquiring Tricon for $3.5 billion, and completed the company’s privatization in May. Tricon has a Google review score of 4.7 out of 5 and portfolio occupancy of more than 97 percent, which suggests HPA’s residents will likely be in good hands under the company’s wing. 

 Tricon takes a boots-on-the ground approach, with local teams in all of its markets, and will be expanding its footprint now to build more teams in HPA markets, a source familiar with the transition said. 

“At Tricon, we believe that housing unlocks life’s potential,” a Tricon spokesperson said in a statement. “As a mission-driven company, we are dedicated to providing hardworking people with access to quality homes in thriving neighborhoods.” 

Tricon taking over the HPA assets’ management will allow it to extend its “professionally managed living experience to even more families — including veterans, firefighters, teachers and nurses — who seek high-quality housing options in the neighborhoods where they live and work,” the statement continued. 

Single-family rental continues to be a high-conviction theme for Blackstone, and for good reason, with an undersupply of around 5 million housing units since the Global Financial Crisis. That undersupply is growing, as the number of existing homes for sale across the U.S. is at an all-time low and roughly 55 percent below the 20-year supply average. 

“This transition is a testament to our operational excellence and resident-first focus, and we look forward to collaborating closely with the HPA team in the coming months,” the Tricon spokesperson added. 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.