Blackstone spends $5.1bn on US affordable housing

Blackstone is buying a $5.1bn portfolio of rent-controlled apartments in the US. The deal, its second big bet on the US housing market in less than a month, will cover 678 “affordable housing communities” in cities across the USA. The housing purchase is part of a $7.3bn deal with AIG, under which Blackstone will also take a 9.9% stake in the US insurance group’s life and retirement business, and assume responsibility for tens of billions of dollars of assets on behalf of the insurer. Last month Blackstone bought Home Partners for America for $6bn. Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said: “These communities provide critical affordable housing and we look forward to being long-term owners. We will make significant investments to improve the apartments while ensuring they remain affordable and in compliance with all rent regulations. We are committed to working with our partners in this sector to expand the supply of affordable housing.” Peter Zaffino, president and chief executive at AIG, added: “AIG has stewarded the affordable housing portfolio for more than 30 years. While the highly specialized assets subject to this transaction are attractive investments, they are no longer core to AIG’s long-term investment strategy. We believe Blackstone has the right expertise and commitment to stakeholders to manage these assets going forward.”   To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews