Local: Residential, Sentinel, Scape, Aware Super to Explore Australia BTR on Thursday

Mingtiandi’s APAC Residential Forum concludes Thursday with a panel discussion on Australia’s build-to-rent market, where acquisitions of income-earning properties nearly doubled last year to top $2 billion.

The one-hour programme on MTD TV will feature Dan McLennan, founder and co-CEO of Local: Residential; Keith Lucas, managing director for Australia at Sentinel; Stephen Gaitanos, managing director and group CEO of Scape; and Alek Misev, head of property at Aware Super.

With surging home prices putting ownership out of reach for many, the four panellists will examine how developers, investors and operators are taking advantage of opportunities in Australia’s BTR sector, as well as the booming student housing space.

The show, which is sponsored by Yardi, will stream live at 10am Hong Kong time and end with a live Q&A session in which viewers can quiz the speakers on their market views. Viewers can register their attendance here.

Regional Star

Australia ranked second in Asia Pacific for multi-family investment in 2023, just ahead of China’s $1.9 billion and gaining ground on longtime leader Japan’s $6.3 billion, according to data from MSCI Real Assets.

Fuelled by forward sales of development projects, Melbourne broke out with over $966 million in multi-family investment volume, a near tripling from 2022 that placed the Victoria capital behind only Tokyo and Osaka regionally. Sydney saw far less investment at nearly $187 million, but the Harbour City is gaining fast, according to BTR market information provider Franklin St.

“Melbourne was able to get a head start on the rest of the nation due to strong demand metrics combined with cheaper land and construction metrics,” the research house said. “Sydney is quickly catching up.”

McLennan’s Local: Residential, a BTR platform backed by Macquarie Asset Management, reached a final closing of its inaugural fund this year with investments in two Melbourne projects with an end value of A$650 million ($427.9 million). The closing brought Local’s assets under management to more than A$1.1 billion.

Standing out as Australia’s largest provider of purpose-built student accommodation, Scape has invested over $9 billion into the market over eight years with a further $1 billion to be invested in its current pipeline.

Last year, the principals of Scape — Gaitanos and Craig Carracher — formed a A$1.5 billion ($980 million) partnership with Dutch fund managers APG and Bouwinvest to develop and acquire assets in Australia’s BTR sector.

Sentinel Australia, an arm of the US real estate investment manager, has more than 1,600 BTR units in operation or under various stages of development nationally, while pension fund Aware Super has expanded its living portfolio with a 22 percent stake in Britain’s largest BTR builder, Get Living.

On to Hong Kong

Mingtiandi’s 2024 events calendar continues in May with an on-location event at The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong in West Kowloon.

The all-day, hybrid forum will kick off with a keynote panel featuring Kenneth Gaw, president and managing principal of Gaw Capital Partners, and Rebecca Lam, managing director for real estate at CPP Investments, followed by a keynote interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy.

The programme will continue with panel discussions focusing on opportunities in the lodging, industrial and office sectors, as well as talks on value-add and opportunistic strategies and the mainland China market.