The Blackstone investment comes during an already sunny period for Tricon. COVID-19 has pushed hundreds of thousands of Americans out of urban centers and into the suburbs where the company operates. Moreover, “working from home has become a new normal in society, which is driving record single-family rental demand,” says Cihan Tuncay, an equity research analyst at Stifel.
Berman joined his father’s company in 2002 after a gilded career spanning from Harvard Business School to Goldman Sachs. At first, his dad had resisted the idea. “He had just been through the early ‘90s real estate downturn,” Gary Berman says. “He didn’t love the idea.” Then came a once-per-century down market in 2007. Prices collapsed and development came to a halt. “[We] obviously got crushed in the Great Recession,” Berman says. “But, you know, we survived.”
Berman took over for his father as CEO in 2015 and maintained that strategy. The company has also expanded its portfolio by purchasing homes automatically using a 90-factor algorithm. However, it has taken on considerable debt in the process—roughly double the ratio of its peers, at 61% of its gross book value, according to a National Bank of Canada report published last week.
Noah_Kirsch Wow! Congrats Noah.