Bobby Orr Firm: Building Profitable Single-Family Rental Portfolios

HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Leva Living, a Houston-based development company led by Bobby Orr, Jr., has acquired land in Humble for a single-family build-to-rent community.

The development is planned to include approximately 160 single-family rental homes, and construction is scheduled to begin immediately.

Avison Young negotiated the sale of 16 acres located on the east side of W. Lake Houston Parkway.

Avison Young Principal Tommy LeBlanc and John-Michael Kamel, an associate in the firm’s Houston office, represented the sellers, who are two local private individuals. The buyer, Houston-based Lēva Living, LP, was represented by Ryan Campbell Anderson of Orr Commercial.

This will be Lēva Living’s first development in the Houston area. Bobby C. Orr, Jr., a long-time figure in Houston commercial real estate, is CEO and co-founder of Leva Living. In 1990, Orr founded Orr Commercial, which has developed, owned, or managed more than 1 million square feet of retail space.

The Leva Living site is bordered to the north by a Harris County park and is a short drive from Atascocita High School.

The build-to-rent single-family market has seen significant growth over the past year. These communities provide renters with amenities such as private yards and open green space—features that gained appeal during the social distancing measures of the pandemic. By contrast, residents in traditional multifamily properties often face crowded elevators and busy corridors, which many considered higher-risk during the spread of Covid-19.

Build-to-rent projects have also attracted institutional capital, with some investors purchasing single-family rental homes in bulk as part of larger portfolios.

Houston’s apartment rents have risen in 2021 after showing softness in 2020.


May 26, 2021 Realty News Report. Copyright 2021.


Image: Courtesy Taylor Morrison


File: Bobby Orr Firm Building Single-Family Rentals

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