Home Property Australia $1.5 billion boost for build to rent housing

$1.5 billion boost for build to rent housing

  • March 30, 2021
  • by Property Australia

Australian build to rent developer Assemble has inked a deal with not-for-profit housing provider Housing Choices Australia to deliver 3,300-plus dwellings and unlock $1.5 billion in institutional capital.

 

  Why we love this project:

  • A first of its kind for the emerging build to rent asset class, Housing Choices Australia will manage the low-income housing component of each community, comprising at least 20% of dwellings; Assemble will deliver the balance as affordable rental housing
  • The housing will be delivered across six of Assemble’s development sites in inner and middle-ring Melbourne
  • Completion of the projects will inject more than $1 billion of construction activity into Victoria’s economy and create 8,000 construction jobs.

 

Assemble currently has a significant project pipeline in Victoria and managing director Kris Daff says the timing of the partnership with Housing Choices Australia.

Australia has an affordable housing shortfall in excess of one million dwellings that must be met by 2036, he says.

“Our partnership demonstrates how the private and not-for-profit community housing sector can work in unison to deliver real solutions to Australia’s critical housing shortage.”

“Build to rent is a scalable model, and when executed to its best effect, it has the potential to meet our nation’s demand for secure-tenure affordable housing. We see mixed-income communities as a blueprint for the future of Australian housing.”

Under the unique partnership, Housing Choices Australia and Assemble will co-invest alongside institutional equity investors in all projects.

Groups offered tenancy may include women experiencing domestic violence, young people living with disabilities, or key workers on low, fixed incomes that provide essential community services.

Housing Choices Australia managing director Michael Lennon says build to rent’s establishment in Australia “reflects the growing maturity of the community housing sector”.

“Build to rent recognises that there are very significant unmet housing needs in Australia coupled with a strong desire by institutional investors to diversify and to contribute solutions to the housing crisis. The community housing sector offers ideal partnership opportunities because of its depth of experience in managing tenancies and communities cost effectively.”

“International examples of build to rent offer a wider array of housing choices, enrich city communities, benefit local economies and most importantly, take pressure off the housing system overall,” Lennon adds.

Assemble’s privately-funded housing portfolio of 5,000 dwellings across 10 sites is valued at more than $3 billion.