American Homes 4 Rent and Värde Partners have teamed up to invest $500m (€465.8m) to acquire and develop new land opportunities in the US.

The companies said the new venture recently closed its first six land transactions, representing total acquisition and development costs of over $150m, adding that they are also in talks to acqire additional sites.

Brendan Bosman, a senior managing director at Värde Partners, said: “We are excited to combine Värde’s extensive experience in US housing with American Homes 4 Rent’s reputable homebuilding and development platform.

“The demand for high-quality single-family rental homes has never been higher despite a persistent shortfall in supply, creating opportunities to invest in segments that we believe are well-positioned for growth. We look forward to working with American Homes 4 Rent to capitalise on these trends and the strong dynamics in their core markets.”

David Singelyn, CEO of American Homes 4 Rent, said: “Our facility with Värde Partners will enable us to continue the strategic expansion of our development pipeline while also maintaining our commitment to a best-in-class investment-grade balance sheet and reducing long-term risk.

“With a continued focus on our disciplined underwriting process and a robust pipeline of development opportunities, we are well-positioned to execute our three-pronged growth strategy in our diversified portfolio footprint while driving value for shareholders.”

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