Our Team

Bret Garwood

Chief Executive Officer

Bret Garwood joined Home Leasing in 2017. He serves as Chief Executive Officer for Home Leasing and Home Leasing Construction. Bret provides executive leadership and oversees the day-to-day operations of the company.

Before Home Leasing, Bret served as Senior Vice President for Multifamily Programs for New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). He oversaw the development and implementation of affordable housing finance and development programs, including Tax Exempt Bonds, 4% and 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), State Low Income Housing Credit (SLIHC), and capital grant and loan sources. While at HCR, Multifamily Programs financed 272 projects with more than 39,000 total housing units. These developments generated a total investment of $15.7 billion in urban, suburban and rural communities, and utilized $6.2 billion of tax exempt and taxable bonds, annual allocations of $296 million of LIHTCs and SLIHCs, and $636 million of capital grants and loans.

Bret served as Director of Business and Housing Development for the City of Rochester from 2007-2013. He directed the planning and implementation of the City’s economic development, housing and real estate functions under a mission to enhance Rochester through real estate development, neighborhood revitalization, business attraction, housing production and rehabilitation, and workforce development. Prior to that position, he worked with the Housing Council in community development, research and program development. He also served as Executive Officer of the Ithaca Board of REALTORS, Director of Housing Services for Tompkins Community Action in Ithaca, and as a private consultant.

Bret holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from Lehigh University and a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. He is a member of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, and a recipient of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) 2015 Advocate of the Year award and the 2012 Rochester Business Journal Forty under 40 Award.

Bret Garwood

Chief Executive Officer
585-287-5786