Retirement Living Council President not worried by Built to Rent but seriously?

Real estate financiers AsheMorgan has lodged a $700 million development application to build more than 900 rental apartments across two towers in Melbourne’s Docklands.

Retirement Living Council President Tony Randello does not think Build to Rent (BTR) is a concern for the 6% market share of retirement living operators but the scale of BTR will surely take some clientele. 

When Mirvac’s LIV Indigo was 80% full, 10.3% of occupants were aged 50 and beyond – a figure which should make all retirement operators stop and think. 

The project by AsheMorgan, which bought the site for $150 million in 2015, is the latest in a string of Build to Rent projects at various stages of development in the Docklands area, including:

• 550 rental apartments as part of a mixed-use project by the Liberman family and the Tim Gurner/Qualitas BTR platform;
• In May, Lendlease lodged plans for 500 BTR apartments within a 24-storey tower – opposite the Dockland Library 
• Salta Properties is developing one of the precinct’s first BTR projects adjacent to Marvel Stadium.
• Samma Property Group’s 31-storey BTR tower with 402 apartments in the nearby Fishermans Bend urban renewal area was approved in January.

Planner Brian Haratsis, executive chairman of Macroplan, has released a report on the growth of BTR.

2,245 BTR apartments have been built and a further 13,081 under development in Melbourne, he said, adding NSW has just over 3,500 units operating or in planning, and Queensland has 4,644.

Marketing & Strategy Masterclass 29 August: learn how BTR is a new financially viable alternative to downsizing to a retirement village.

The SOURCE: The speed of BTR development should concern all retirement living operators on so many fronts