The funds will be used to finance $600 million worth of model home purchases.
Resmark plans to acquire completed model homes under a sale-leaseback contract.
In a sale-leaseback agreement, the seller gets money for their asset while continuing to occupy it. The buyer gets to collect monthly rent from an asset with a known tenant.
Resmark Chief Investment Officer Ziv Cohen will oversee the Resmark Model Home Sale-Leaseback Venture.
“Model homes are a mission-critical asset for major homebuilders selling production homes, but they tie up capital for substantial lengths of time,” Cohen said in a statement.
“With our program, homebuilders will have the option to sell these assets in bulk to a trusted partner and redeploy the capital into other areas of their business while maintaining the use of the model homes until production homes have been sold. In addition, the homebuilders retain the ability to participate in any appreciated value upon the ultimate sale of the model homes,” he added.
Investors in the venture are clients advised by Townsend Group.
Townsend had roughly $18.1 billion of assets under management and real estate/real asset allocations of $133.9 billion as of June 2020.
“We’re excited to be in business with Resmark, one of the premier residential investment managers in the country. They are well-positioned to execute this strategy due to their successful long-term track record and deep relationships with homebuilders across the country,” Townsend Group Partner Scott Miller said in a statement. “The initial commitment to the venture will allow us to purchase over $600 million of model homes, which we project will expand rapidly.”
To date, Resmark has taken part in more than 250 investments consisting of more than 85,000 single-family homes and multifamily residential units.
Earlier this year, Resmark and Intracorp Cos. acquired land in South Austin, Texas, for One Oak, a 106-unit mixed-use community.
And last year, Resmark formed a joint venture with DeNova Homes, a homebuilder in Northern California. The joint venture features 10 DeNova communities with roughly 1,100 single-family homes and lots.
DeNova is in an exclusive contract with Resmark for five years to acquire, develop and sell future residential projects.
Resmark has entered into joint ventures with other homebuilders as well.
One recent partnership is with Johnson Development Corp. and Heartwood Development Co. The three companies have teamed up for Willow Point, a 430-home community near San Antonio, Texas.
