However, Blackstone officials disavowed an article in Friday's Tampa Bay Times that said Blackstone plans to spend $1 billion buying upwards of "15,000 homes in Tampa Bay over the next three years." Instead, Blackstone Senior Managing Director Peter Rose confirmed Tampa is one of about 20 U.S. cities Blackstone is evaluating for a fund that targets distressed homes.

"But we deny any intention to spend a billion dollars in any one city. In any one city, we would spend no more than a tiny fraction of a billion dollars," he said.

More investment companies are looking at the market, including many regional and some national firms, said Stephen Dorsett, who runs Clear Title America in Tampa. The difficulty would be finding enough available homes that have gone fully through the foreclosure process and are acquirable.

"The inventory is just not where it was two, three, four years ago," he said. Unless investors with a billion dollars dealt directly with a bank, "I don't know where they would get the product from."

The Times quoted Nick Pavonetti, owner of the PDC Group, as an agent "helping Blackstone buy homes." Contacted Friday, Pavonetti declined to say whether the article is accurate. Instead, he said, "I terminated my relationship with (Blackstone)."

Times Managing Editor Mike Wilson refused to comment.