Blackstone’s SFR Platform May Go Public in 2017

An Invitation Homes rental property in Jacksonville, FL.

DALLAS—An initial public offering for the Blackstone Group’s single-family rental platform could occur soon after New Year’s Day, according to published reports. The IPO for Invitation Homes, for which the company filed confidentially this week, would seek to raise about $1.5 billion and value the company at approximately $7.5 billion, unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Bloomberg Business reported this past July that Blackstone was eyeing an IPO for Invitation Homes, which would trade as a REIT. “Blackstone built the company in the aftermath of the housing crash, making the largest investment among big buyers that snapped up properties at depressed prices to institutionalize the business of leasing single-family homes,” Bloomberg reported in July. “Their bet depended on unprecedented demand for rentals from Americans who lost residences to foreclosure and those unable to get mortgages as banks tightened credit.”