THE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
four BTR deals with a fifth under offer.
property for sale. We work with the best team of property professionals spanning architecture, planning, environmental & heritage to ensure the property is presented to the market in the best possible way. We also engage with the capital behind the developers/operators to understand their returns and monitor their appetite to source the most appropriate sites, in addition we assist in the forming of partnerships or introduce capital partners where possible. What are some of the most significant or rewarding projects that you’ve been involved in and why? The sale earlier this year of 6-34 High Street, Preston to Altis Property Partners & Aware Super to develop approximately 200 build to rent key worker affordable rental apartments for its Aware Super members (health & community services sectors), in a perfect location for this product. Facilitating a transaction that will allow our key workers including nurses and teachers to live close to their place of employment given the current cost of living pressures is extremely rewarding. The Registration of Interest process for Fitzroy Gasworks arguably the most significant infill project of the last 10 years comprising of 3ha of developable land and approximately 1,000 dwellings. The response from the market was a real-life reminder of the quality and depth of the
development market in Victoria.
Many transactions in the last 18 months have been through BTR developers acquiring sites which previously had a permit for BTS in most instances have been resold due to the foreign investor market retreating. We expect Australia’s BTR market will mature rapidly over the next three to five years, with the number of BTR units to rise from just over 3,500 today to more than 20,000 units by 2027 based on the existing project pipeline alone. Currently, 14 major institutional investors are developing 40 BTR projects nationwide, representing 12,848 units under construction and this number is growing on a daily basis. This represents a market size based on combined asset values of $9.6 billion. Victoria is expected to develop the lion’s share of units and host almost two-thirds of national stock within the next decade. What is your secret to achieving the exceptional results that you have? We are trusted advisors to our clients. Our skill set prior to agency included acquiring and developing large scale projects so we understand the requirements as a purchaser and tackle potential challenges of a site head on. We identify roadblocks to a sale and resolve potential issues prior to marketing the
What advice would you give property developers today? Take advantage of current uncertainty. The market fundamentals are strong including forecast population growth numbers and a significant under supply of new dwellings with stock levels at their lowest in 20 years. Melbourne will continue to remain a destination for migration and is expected to return to a more normalised intake of students in 2023. The recent Census data suggests that Melbourne still lacks the diversity of housing stock that is reflected in similar sized comparable cities around the word. Flats or apartments in three storeys or greater only represent 9 percent of the total private dwelling stock in the Melbourne Metro area. In a city where only one in three residents were born here, there is a significant opportunity to provide a greater diversity of housing that would better reflect the Country of origin of most of its inhabitants. We anticipate interest rates and construction costs to stabilise in 2023 so now is the time to buy in a potentially less crowded market before normal conditions return next year.
Summer 2022/2023 – 63
Powered by FlippingBook