Dive Brief:
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Japanese homebuilder Sekisui House and its joint venture real estate partner Roadside Development are buying the headquarters building of government-backed mortgage company Fannie Mae in Washington, DC, for $89 million, according to The Washington Post.
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The acquisition includes the 228,000-square-foot building that dates from 1958 and roughly 10 acres of surrounding land. The duo will redevelop the property, which is surrounded by a high-density neighborhood and public parks, into a mixed-use site that will incorporate the existing main building.
- Sekisui House is targeting 100 billion yen ($877 million) in sales and 20 billion yen ($175 million) in operating profits in the U.S. market in 2016.
Dive Insight:
Sekisui’s purchase of the Fannie Mae property, which debuted its North American subsidiary in 2010, comes as Japanese homebuilders ramp up their investments in the U.S. in response to a contracting industry at home as population declines. Fannie Mae is relocating its headquarters downtown.
Sekisui has already made investments in the Washington area after it snapped up a majority share in the mixed-use development One Loudoun in Ashburn, VA, which includes more than 1,000 homes, the Post reported.
Last year, the company also bought a controlling interest in two metropolitan Denver developments, which totaled 1,900 acres, as well as a 1,200-acre community in northern Texas. It has purchased stakes in developments in California, North Carolina, Virginia and Oregon.
Other Japanese builders are following suit, with Daiwa House Group’s U.S. division snapping up Washington-area homebuilder Stanley Martin for $251 million in October.
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