Seattle

BLACKSTONE Group LP, the biggest owner of US single-family houses, agreed to buy 36 apartment properties across the country for about US$1.7 billion as it expands its rental business, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction.

The low-rise, garden-style properties are being sold by Praedium Group, a New York-based real estate investment firm, and contain about 11,000 apartments, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal is private. About half of the buildings are in California, Washington, DC, and Boston, with the rest located around the US, they said.