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BTR Daily - October 8, 2026 - Empire secures $65.5M refinance for 240-home BTR in Arizona

BTR Daily - October 8, 2026 - Empire secures $65.5M refinance for 240-home BTR in Arizona

Ascent opens 113-townhome BTR in Arizona. ARK begins leasing BTR townhomes in Georgia. The next BTR supply wave. Longer resident stays. Two new BTR deals.

Matt H & Aid Sopjani
October 08, 2026

Good morning. Welcome to BTR List! In each issue, we cover the top stories, trends, and listings in build-to-rent and single-family rentals.

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NEWS ROUNDUP

FINANCING: Empire secures $65.5M refinance for 240-home BTR in Arizona. Empire Group has secured a $65.5M loan from Värde Partners to refinance a newly completed 240-home BTR in Phoenix, AZ. The floating-rate loan has a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options and will support the community's lease-up. Randy Grudzinski, partner at Empire Group, said that with 30-year mortgage rates near 7%, many would-be buyers see highly amenitized BTR communities as a more flexible way into a new home.

DEVELOPMENT: Ascent opens 113-townhome BTR in Arizona. Ascent Cos. has opened a 113-townhome rental community in Goodyear, AZ, about 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix. Base rents range from $2,395 to $2,845 a month depending on the floor plan, and the Phoenix-based developer is offering up to 12 weeks of free rent to new residents. Each townhome has a private attached two-car garage, a loft, a private courtyard and smart home technology.

DEVELOPMENT: ARK begins leasing BTR townhomes in Georgia. ARK Homes For Rent has started leasing a new build-to-rent townhome community in Bethlehem, GA, in the greater Atlanta area. All of the homes are three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhomes of 1,665 to 1,685 square feet, with attached two-car garages, private driveways and patios, and residents share a pool, clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center, pickleball court and pet park. John Isakson, CEO of ARK Homes For Rent, said the firm wants to create a neighborhood where residents can put down roots and feel connected to the community around them.

RESEARCH: BTR supply wave forms in Raleigh, Sacramento and Jacksonville. Raleigh, Sacramento and Jacksonville are expected to see a meaningful increase in BTR deliveries, according to Jay Parsons on his Rent Roll podcast. Nationally, BTR completions peaked above 70,000 units and have fallen below 60,000 on a trailing 12-month basis, according to John Burns Research and Consulting data, while Phoenix delivered about 8,000 units and Dallas-Fort Worth nearly 5,500 over the past year. Parsons said high mortgage rates may keep households renting longer but do not create new renter households, so added supply means more options competing for a limited pool of renters. Jacksonville stands out for having one of the highest shares of institutional SFR ownership while recording essentially flat rent growth.

READ: Longer resident stays push BTR operators to rethink underwriting.

BTR SUMMIT - PANELISTS ANNOUNCED

Join hundreds of BTR owners, developers, investors, and brokers for a premier build-to-rent event in Atlanta on November 10th. Hear from the CEOs of Parkland Residential, ARK Homes For Rent, Trilogy Investment Company, Center Park Group, Jim Chapman Construction, Laseter Development Group, and more!

Secure your tickets here: BTR Summit Tickets

*Only a handful of Early Bird tickets remain at a $100 discount