Cerberus said to buy 4,200 houses in biggest U.S. bulk purchase

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Cerberus Capital Management is buying about 4,200 U.S. houses, expanding its foray into home rentals in the industry's largest bulk purchase.

The purchase will make Cerberus one of the top 10 owners of U.S. houses as the institutional rental industry built from the housing crisis consolidates. Large landlords are seeking economies of scale by acquiring bulk portfolios, while smaller companies are taking advantage of gains in real estate values to sell as it gets harder to compete.

“Everything that I hear and see in the market points to this wave of consolidation happening,” said Jack Micenko, an analyst with Susquehanna International Group LLP who covers single-family real estate investment trusts.