JLL Capital Markets added two Atlanta-based members of its land-advisory team to its national single-family rental group. 

Senior director Jamie Smithson and director Conor Welton will maintain their duties in land advisory as they enter the SFR space. Since joining the land team in 2019, they have closed more than $450 million in land transactions, JLL said. 

In the SFR group, Smithson and Welton will concentrate on both local and national investment sales, working alongside platform leads Matthew Putterman, Zach Nolan and Chris Shea. 

“We see a big opportunity to become a more full-service intermediary to our developers, sponsors and capital clients, who have a specific mandate for the build-for-rent real estate sector,” Smithson said in a news release. “In the past several quarters, we have successfully transacted across a spectrum in this niche arena – land, capital and investment sales. This is an exciting and dynamic space, and we are fully committed to advising on an array of capital and investment sale solutions for BTR and SFR.” 

The investment advisors’ Atlanta location will help JLL meet robust client demand in the Sun Belt, the company said, noting that Atlanta’s SFR market saw a 12% increase in rents over the last year, although rents are expected to moderate going forward.  

“The Sunbelt, and specifically the Southeast, will continue to be major focus markets for build-to-rent and single-family rental practitioners,” Putterman said. “Conor and Jamie operate in a prime geography and possess a unique investment advisory background that serves our national efforts well.”