Bahrain-based Investcorp, has bought eight residential properties in the United States for about $400 million through its US unit, the investment bank said on Wednesday.

Investcorp acquired properties in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, it said in a statement.

Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Investcorp’s co-CEO, said: "In an environment in which the US homeownership rate has dropped to a 50-year low, these acquisitions affirm our confidence in the attractiveness of investing in high-quality multifamily rental properties in major U.S. markets.  We believe this fact, combined with the solid demographic and employment fundamentals in these areas, should contribute to the long-term value of these investments.”

Investcorp acquired each of the properties through joint ventures with several local and regional operating partners.

The eight properties acquired total more than 3.2 million sq ft with approximately 3,400 multifamily units. The current average occupancy rate is approximately 96 percent.

In addition to strong momentum behind acquisitions, significant realizations have also been made in the last twelve months, including the sale of multifamily properties in Houston and Dallas; an industrial property in Connecticut; office buildings in Northern California; and hotels in Pittsburgh and Boston.

According to data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA) Investcorp is among the top 10 foreign investors in US real estate over the past 10 years. Since 1996, Investcorp has completed more than 300 property investments totalling more than $11 billion in value.

As of June 30, 2015 Investcorp's real estate group had approximately $1.4 billion in assets under management, primarily in commercial, office and residential properties in 30 of the largest markets in the US. - TradeArabia News Service &  Reuters