Blackstone launched a new homebuilder lending platform aimed at financing the construction of more than 50,000 for sale homes across the US each year, expanding its role in the housing market as affordability pressures keep rising.

The platform is backed by Brio Homebuilder Solutions, a portfolio company of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, and will also work with third party partners. Blackstone said the venture is designed to give homebuilders more capital and flexibility at a time when the US faces a persistent housing shortage.

The announcement comes as Blackstone, one of the largest institutional owners of single family homes in the US, tries to position itself as part of the supply solution rather than only a landlord in a tight market. The firm said fewer homes are being built today than in 1960, even though the US population has nearly doubled.

Blackstone President Jon Gray said last week that the US needs to make homeownership more accessible, pointing to the lack of new supply as a key driver of affordability pressures. Blackstone has also argued that institutions own only about 0.5% of all single family homes in the US, pushing back against criticism that large investors are the main cause of rising prices.

The new platform arrives as Washington increases pressure on institutional homebuyers. President Donald Trump has pledged to stop large investors from buying more single family homes, though a full ban has not yet been codified.

His administration has also moved to improve housing affordability through executive orders aimed at encouraging mortgage lending and easing rules that can slow development.

Blackstone is already deeply exposed to residential real estate. The firm bought Home Partners of America in 2021 in a $6 billion deal that added 17,000 rental homes to its portfolio, and later acquired Tricon Residential. Blackstone said Tricon has developed or is developing about 64,000 single family homes and home sites.

Its affordable housing company, April Housing, is also on track to be one of the largest preservers of affordable housing this year, with more than $300 million invested in its communities, according to Blackstone.

The push also reflects a broader move by alternative asset managers into builder finance as traditional lenders pull back from construction lending. Apollo Global Management launched Olympus Housing Capital last year to finance land purchases and site preparation for builders, while Pretium raised $500 million to lend to home flippers, builders, and land development companies.