Australian investors take advantage of falling US home ownership

PHOTO: Housing market: Home prices cool in major markets

Australian high-net-worth investors are taking advantage of falling home-ownership rates in the United States by investing in build-to-rent, or multifamily, assets – a sector still in its infancy in Australia.

“There have been some private investors over the years who have been into multifamily in the US but I’ve definitely seen a significant uptick in interest in that asset class in the US by offshore investors,” Les Koltai, principal of Australian advisory group LS Global Advisors, told The Australian Financial Review.

“People come and talk to us all the time about launching multifamily in the Australian market but it is very hard to get the same returns here as in the US,” Mr Koltai said.

While investors were interested in injecting capital into the fledgling sector locally, it was challenging to achieve the same kind of returns possible in the United States due to high land and construction costs, Mr Koltai said.