A big Wall Street firm bets the American home dream is dying

Washington

A BIG Wall Street firm is betting that America is likely to become the United States of Renters.

On Thursday, private equity behemoth Blackstone announced a major merger of its own Invitation Homes Inc with another company, Starwood Waypoint Homes. It's the kind of news that makes most people's eyes glaze over. But after the deal is done, Invitation Homes will be America's biggest landlord of single-family homes, owning more than 82,000 houses, mostly in major cities like Chicago and Miami.