Invitation Homes, the nation's largest single-family rental landlord, has finished a buying spree, upgrading its portfolio with newer houses even as it sells some of its older properties in a move it plans to accelerate in the coming year.
The Dallas-based real estate investment trust, the largest owner and operator of single-family rentals in the United States with 86,192 homes in its portfolio, was a net buyer of homes in the fourth quarter and full year in 2025. The REIT reported rent growth for new and renewing tenants of 1.8% in the quarter, with 3.1% in fiscal 2025.
Now, Invitation Homes plans to change tack in becoming a net seller of properties this year, using proceeds to buy back stock that executives believe is undervalued. The REIT's stock price has dipped roughly 15% in the past six months following the Trump administration announcing it may restrict large institutional investors from buying additional U.S. single-family houses.
"Housing affordability continues to draw significant attention and represents a significant challenge for many Americans," Dallas Tanner, CEO of Invitation Homes, said during an earnings call with analysts and investors Thursday. "Renting provides an attractive alternative for many households, which is why since 1965 about one-third of all Americans have rented their home. Yet, with only 10% of multifamily apartments offering three bedrooms or more, there is a clear gap in family-oriented rental options."
The elevated cost of homeownership often gets placed on mortgage rates, but, Tanner said, equally as "egregious" are rising insurance rates and property taxes.
Invitation Homes has a history of buying three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in desirable suburban U.S. markets. Recently, the REIT has also focused on upgrading its portfolio with newly constructed houses through builder relationships.
The REIT's revenue grew 4.2% in 2025 to $2.7 billion and was up 4% in the fourth quarter to $685 million.
In the fourth quarter, the firm added 368 properties — all newly constructed single-family houses — to its rental portfolio, purchasing them from various builders in deals totaling $123 million. In the period, the firm sold 315 homes for $138 million.
Buying from home builders
Most of the 2,410 single-family homes that Invitation Homes purchased for $812 million in fiscal 2025 were also bought from home builders. For the full year, the REIT sold 1,356 homes in deals totaling $534 million, the company said, with the homes often going to families who purchased them for their own use.
"We continue to strengthen our platform and improve the resident experience," Tanner said, adding that the REIT plans to focus on "controlling what we can control" this year.
Beyond its wholly owned bets, Invitation Homes also teamed up in joint ventures to acquire 122 houses in the fourth quarter for $41 million while selling 13 homes for $6 million. For fiscal 2025, the joint ventures purchased 500 houses for $175 million, selling 116 houses for $52 million.
In combining Invitation Homes' wholly owned houses, joint venture-owned houses and managed-only houses, the REIT owns or manages more than 110,000 single-family-rental properties in the United States.
Invitation Homes expects to change pace in 2026 by becoming a net seller of homes rather than a net buyer. This year, the REIT plans to acquire $250 million in wholly owned acquisitions and $100 million in joint venture deals. Meanwhile, Invitation Homes plans to sell $550 million of houses from its portfolio.
Seller proceeds
The proceeds from being a seller in 2026 will serve as a primary funding source for future share repurchases. Of the board-authorized $500 million share repurchase program, the REIT already executed $100 million to purchase 3.6 million shares since October.
Invitation Homes acquired ResiBuilt, a build-to-rent developer in high-growth markets in the Southeast United States, in an $89 million acquisition in mid-January. The deal could include up to $7.5 million in potential incentive-based payments tied to performance. The 70-person team, led by co-founder and president Jay Byce, has joined Invitation Homes and will continue under the ResiBuilt name. The deal brings about 1,500 lots to the REIT's business.
Tanner said peak leasing season, beginning on the heels of the Super Bowl through mid-summer, is getting off to a strong start, with other executives chiming in that "lead volume feels very healthy compared to last year."
Even so, a few of Invitation Homes' core markets, including Florida, Texas and Arizona, have slightly elevated supply, Tanner said.
"We are seeing healthy demand, and we look at that through a variety of different metrics, but our lead volume remains strong, clearly a strong indicator that there is a demand for single-family housing," Tanner added.