The deal includes 23,262 homes, Equity Residential said in a statement Monday. The proceeds will be used to pay a special dividend of $9 to $11 a share, it said. The apartments are spread across 72 properties and the price is equal to $230,634 per unit.

Sternlicht is becoming a growing force in a U.S. residential rental market that’s expanding as young Americans face hurdles buying homes. His Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust unit agreed to merge with Colony American Homes in September, part of billionaire Tom Barrack’s Colony Capital Inc., to create a company with more than 30,000 units.

“The size of this transaction underscores our conviction in multifamily housing’s continuing ability to offer superior risk-adjusted returns,” Sternlicht said in the statement. “We are excited to increase our exposure to these growth markets.”

The apartment purchase was made through a unit controlled by Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X and its Starwood Capital Group’s biggest non-hotel property purchase, according to a separate statement.

Equity Residential said it intends to sell another 4,728 properties next year, including all of its assets in Connecticut. The apartments sold Monday are in South Florida, Denver, Washington D.C. and California. The sale isn’t expected to affect the fourth-quarter dividend, the company said.

Residential landlords are adding assets and consolidating amid the lowest U.S. homeownership level in decades. Even so, stocks of all the publicly traded rental-home landlords have been sagging this year, with firms struggling to convince investors they can operate the business efficiently.