J
ohn Burns, founder and CEO of John Burns Research & Consulting, recently sat down with Don Mullen, founder and CEO of Pretium Partners, for a fireside chat at the Rental Communities Summit. Prior to founding Pretium, Mullen was head of global credit and mortgages at Goldman Sachs. The real estate investment firm focuses on single-family rental (SFR), build-to-rent (BTR) and fix-and-flip properties.

    Mullen explained that in the 1980s, investment firms securitized small assets to make them available for institutional investors. Today, Pretium's platforms use modern technology to cut out middlemen, allowing direct investment in assets with customizable leverage and management options. This includes fix-and-flip loans, homebuilder loans, nonqualified mortgages, and more.

    Burns explored Mullen's specialization in housing and how it has given Pretium an advantage over other Wall Street firms. Mullen described Pretium's platform as a residential ecosystem that originates nontraditional mortgages. He mentioned the use of data-driven heat maps to inform decision-making with homebuilder loans and the company's evolution from targeting SFRs to other assets, focusing on technology and operational efficiency.

    From an investment standpoint, this data allows Pretium to respond quickly to new opportunities without external data needs. Burns asked Mullen how long it takes Pretium to analyze an investment opportunity, and he replied that they can start discussing within three to 24 hours.

    Mullen shared that Pretium raised $1.5 billion in equity as part of a larger investment to help homebuilders grow inventory, describing this partnership as attractive. Homebuilder and development lending is a growing part of Pretium's ecosystem for BTR properties, with the company's acquisition of BH Management Services making these assets more liquid.

    Burns asked about Pretium's construction lending platform and interest in land banking. Mullen explained that they want to leave the banking system behind in favor of private credit, citing the benefits of reduced leverage and liability structure. He also expressed excitement over the possibilities with their construction lending platform.

    The conversation ended with Mullen providing his outlook on the future of BTR communities, suggesting that rent-to-own opportunities can help create housing stock when affordability is low. He believes the SFR industry can be a bridge to homeownership for renters, helping them improve credit scores and eventually graduate from rentership.