Brookfield Asset Management is in advanced talks to acquire Yes! Communities, a major U.S. operator of manufactured homes, from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC in a deal that could exceed $10 billion, people familiar with the matter have told The Financial Times. If completed, the purchase would mark one of the largest real estate takeovers since 2022 and represent one of Brookfield’s most significant recent property bets.
The Canadian investment giant, which oversees around $1 trillion in assets, has been negotiating the acquisition for months, the people said, though no final agreement has been reached and discussions could still fall apart. Brookfield and GIC declined to comment, and Yes! Communities did not respond to requests for comment.
Yes! Communities, based in Denver, manages tens of thousands of manufactured homes in roughly 300 communities across the United States, with a concentration in the Midwest and Southeast. Manufactured homes—factory-built houses transported to community lots—have become a critical source of affordable housing in the U.S. The company both rents homes and provides purchase options in which residents buy the units over time while leasing the land from the firm.
Rising demand for low-cost housing has drawn investor interest to such portfolios. Limited construction of new homes due to higher financing costs has tightened supply, which economists and real estate executives expect will keep rents climbing in the years ahead. Many investors now view buying existing housing stock as more attractive than developing new projects, a dynamic driving consolidation across the sector.
The possible Yes! acquisition aligns with a broader push Brookfield has made in U.S. residential real estate. Since the beginning of 2023, the firm has invested more than $10 billion in homes and apartments, most of them in the U.S., even as high interest rates weighed on property values and financing activity.
Brookfield has a long history in global property markets, owning sizeable assets such as Canary Wharf in London and major office and residential towers in New York. It has also invested in the lower end of the U.S. residential sector, recently selling a portfolio of mobile homes for $1.6 billion. That exit captured strong gains from rent growth, underscoring investor appetite in this segment.
Executives at the firm have pointed in recent months to what they see as shifting sentiment in real estate markets. They argue that capital markets are beginning to open up again after a prolonged slowdown triggered by higher borrowing costs. One person familiar with the company’s strategy told The Financial Times that Brookfield believes this is creating fresh opportunities both for acquisitions and for refinancing existing holdings.
Founded in 2007, Yes! grew as the housing market struggled during the global financial crisis, buying assets from Berkshire Hathaway-owned Clayton Homes and private investors. The portfolio has since expanded into one of the largest networks of manufactured housing in the country.
GIC bought Yes! in 2016 and has considered pursuing an initial public offering of the company in recent years, according to people briefed on its strategy. A sale at a valuation above $10 billion would mark one of the largest sovereign wealth fund exits in the U.S. property market.
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