Sunshine State, Here We Come!

We are excited to share with you that we have a new Florida Division President and Vice President now in place who will be expanding the Christopher Todd Communities Build-to-Rent footprint there.

“We have invested considerable resources in planning our entry into new regional markets whose demographics and migration trends support not only the need, but the desire, for our successful Build-To-Rent cottage-style homes,” said CEO Todd Wood.

Our Arizona-based company has created thousands of one- and two-bedroom rental homes in the Phoenix, Ariz. metro market before completing the sale of its southwest portfolio in 2021. In 2019 the company entered a national joint venture with a publicly traded homebuilder, from which it successfully exited in 2022. The company hit the pause button on development for 18 months as the economy weakened, and it has utilized that time to plan its next chapter of delivering A New Way To Live® to some of the 34 percent of Americans who prefer to rent a home. “The time is right for this kind of expansion. Existing rental products are being absorbed, and more new rental options are in demand,” said Brent Long, Christopher Todd President of National Development.

With this 2024 growth plan, the company has hired Jeffrey Gersh as Florida regional president and Matthew Paul as the Florida regional vice president. Both gentlemen have extensive backgrounds in finance and real estate development. Gersh was most recently with Trez Capital Florida, and Paul was with Alta Terra Real Estate. While they will be officed in Boca Raton, their efforts will be focused on Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando, Sarasota, southwest Florida, Jacksonville, Treasure Coast, and the Space Coast. They will be evaluating land and development opportunities, including potentially buying existing BTR assets to rebrand and add to the portfolio. They will also be reviewing capital investment opportunities. Meanwhile, Christopher Todd will be opening a regional development office in Texas as well as one in Utah.

BTR has become the real estate niche that makes sense for thousands of people. Research shows that it is now $500 a month cheaper to rent than own, on average, in the US. While homeownership is unobtainable for many, they still want the privacy that a Christopher Todd BTR cottage-style home affords, including a private backyard, doggy doors, and in-home technology. The majority of the Christopher Todd prospective residents fall into the millennial category – born between 1981 and 1996 – who want to live in a home, maintenance-free. The community lifestyle amenities including resort pools, event lawn and dog park help create a social environment that connects the neighbors to one another, and the communities are professionally managed. Christopher Todd homes also eliminate the objections associated with apartment living such as noise from above or below as every home is single-story.

Build-To-Rent delivers a housing solution for municipalities, especially currently in Florida, Texas, Utah, and Arizona where state to state in-migration is strong. That migration is driven by cost of living, employment, weather, and taxation, and boosted by the California outflow of long-term residents.

Written By

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Martha Moyer Wagoner

Martha Moyer Wagoner is our Director of Public Relations, focusing on media relations while also fostering industry education and community goodwill. Martha loves to escape to her mountain cabin where she does her best to avoid bears.