D
aiwa House Group, a Japanese homebuilder, has made its mark on the US residential real estate market through its subsidiary Daiwa House USA Holdings. The company has acquired a minority stake in Alliance Residential Company, a multifamily developer and investor based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Alliance was founded by Bruce Ward in 2000 and focuses on building luxury apartment communities that are later sold to investors.

    The investment is expected to have minimal impact on Alliance's operations, but will see Ward step down as chairman, replaced by former COO V. Jay Hiemenz. This deal follows a string of sales from Alliance, including the offloading of 1,200 units in Houston to Hamilton Point Investments for $195 million this summer.

    Alliance has also sold its management arm to Greystar in a $200 million deal, which manages over 130,000 units. This comes after Tokyo-based Sumitomo Forestry acquired Irving-based developer JPI last year, investing over $215 million in the company's rental communities. The trend of Japanese companies investing in US residential real estate continues, with Daiwa House Group joining a growing list of players in the market.