Iida Group Holdings is the latest Japanese real estate company to invest into the U.S. housing market.
Through its subsidiary Arnest One Corporation, the Japanese company has acquired a majority stake in Atlanta-based builder Patrick Malloy Communities. As part of the transaction, the company has created Arnest One America.
Patrick Malloy Communities has developed 11,000 homesites and sold more than 7,000 homes for over $4 billion since being founded in 1994. The company generated $117 million in sales and $18.8 million in profit in 2024. After initially focusing on the first-time buyer segment, the builder recently has expanded to offer 55+ homes in Canton and Snellville, Georgia.
The investment by Iida Group Holdings reflects the growing interest in foreign investment, particularly from Asian companies, in the U.S. housing market. Since 2013, Asian buyers have acquired more than 40 U.S. builder or construction service companies. In particular, Japanese companies—including Sekisui House, Daiwa House, Sumitomo Forestry, and Misawa Homes Co.—have made big investments in the U.S. housing market to bolster their portfolios over the past several years.
Interest from Japanese companies is partially driven by the desire to diversify portfolio as well as favorable demographics in the United States. Japanese companies also have access to inexpensive equity and debt capital, allowing more aggressive valuations on prospective deals.
For its part, Iida Group Holdings highlighted the long-term growth potential of the U.S. economy as well as the size and strength of the Atlanta market as reasons for acquiring Patrick Malloy Communities.
“The strong housing demand is expected there going forward supported by people relocating from other states and the continued population increase,” Iida Group Holdings stated in a document announcing the creation of Arnest One America. “The company thinks that working with the operating companies of Patrick Malloy Communities within Iida Group will play a role of launching a full-scale business in the U.S. and becoming a growth strategy for the company’s overseas business.”
Iida Group Holdings said the Patrick Malloy Communities acquisition will be a stepping stone for further expansion in the U.S. housing market going forward.
Launched in 1981 and headquartered in Tokyo, Arnest One Corporation closed over 40,000 homes delivered across the world in 2024.
