Blackstone’s Home Partners of America will pause on buying single-family homes in 38 regional markets in the U.S., it announced Thursday. Home Partners owns over 17,000 houses in more than 80 markets and said it will continue to buy homes in more than 20 hot housing markets across the country.
The company said they considered home price appreciation, state and local regulations, and market demand when deciding which markets to pause. The announcement lists 28 cities, including formerly hot Boise, Idaho, where it will halt buying on Sept. 1, with a further 10 cities on hold starting Oct. 1
Home Partners, which provides a path for tenants to become homeowners, was acquired by Blackstone Inc. for $6 billion in June 2021.
On their announcement, the company said “We hope to resume purchasing homes in these markets in the future.” In a statement published by Bloomberg, the company said the markets where it is pausing represent less than 5% of its recent activity.
Approved households in the listed markets who do not submit a home for a review for the Sept. 1 and Oct. 1 dates, or households who applied to the lease purchase program but did not receive a decision on their application, will be issued a refund on their application fees, Home Partners stated.
Homes can still apply to the company before the Sept. 1 or the Oct. 1 deadlines but they must also submit a home for a review within this time.
The company said scheduled move-ins will remain unaffected and will be monitored by Pathlight Property Management. Rent amounts and right to purchase prices outlined in a resident’s anticipated terms will also be honored, it said.
Recently, other landlords including Invitation Homes Inc., American Homes 4 Rent, and KKR & Co.’s My Community Homes have slowed their purchases, owing to rising home prices and financing.
Fortune reports home sales and new home sales are down YoY by 20.2% and 29.6%. Moreover, Fitch Ratings predicts a “moderate pullback” with a mid-single-digit decline in housing activity in 2023.
In May, Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told Fortune home prices may fall 20% in 183 housing markets in the U.S., projecting a 5% to 10% price cut.
Moody’s Analytics believe areas like Boise, Colorado Springs, Atlanta, Idaho Falls, among others have the most “overvalued” homes in the U.S. and can anticipate home prices fall between 15% to 20%.
In other recent proptech news, JPI announced a joint venture with multifamily-focused investment companies Madera Residential and WayMaker. Investment platform Leste Group and multifamily investment firm SAR Apartment Capital, also announced a $23.6 million acquisition of four multifamily properties in Ohio.