Key Takeaways
- • M&G Real Estate acquired the newly completed 215-unit Bowen Crescent rental apartment tower next to Melbourne's Anzac metro station for A$215 million ($158 million), per M&G's statement on Tuesday, implying about A$1 million per apartment.
- • The acquisition lifts the value of assets in M&G's Asia Living Property platform to about $500 million and is the platform's first build-to-rent asset.
- • The 17-storey building was developed by Australian build-to-rent partner Novus, which bought the site in 2023 as a seed asset for its second Build-to-Rent investment vehicle.
- • Per a Mingtiandi calculation, the price equals roughly A$8,270 per square metre of gross floor area, about 7 percent above Barings and Aware Super's WeAreLiving Queens per-unit price nearby.
- • Melbourne's rental vacancy rate is around 1 percent, and Australia ranks as the most preferred living investment destination in Asia Pacific ahead of Japan, according to a Cushman & Wakefield survey.
Summary
UK property investor M&G Real Estate has acquired Bowen Crescent, a newly completed 215-unit luxury rental apartment tower beside Melbourne's Anzac metro station, for A$215 million ($158 million). M&G announced the deal in a statement on Tuesday. The transaction lifts the value of assets in its Asia Living Property platform to about $500 million. JD Lai, chief executive and chief investment officer of M&G Real Estate Asia, said Australia "stands out as a market where demand for professionally managed rental housing continues to grow, supported by strong demographic trends," adding that Bowen Crescent "is a high-quality asset in one of Australia's strongest residential markets."
The 17-storey building was developed by Novus, M&G's Australian build-to-rent partner. According to M&G, it offers around 26,000 square metres of gross floor area and includes one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with amenities such as co-working space, a gym, a swimming pool, a sauna and a cold plunge. Novus's leasing site lists asking rents starting at A$775 per week for a one-bedroom, A$920 for a two-bedroom and A$1,680 for a three-bedroom unit. Novus acquired the site at 2 Bowen Crescent in 2023 with an existing permit for a 214-unit build-to-sell scheme and redesigned it for rental use. The City of Port Phillip approved the amended plans in February 2024. The property is about 150 metres from Anzac station, which opened on Melbourne's Metro Tunnel line at the end of November last year, and sits roughly two kilometres south of the city centre in the St Kilda Road precinct.
The asset becomes the first build-to-rent investment in M&G's Asia Living Property strategy, which M&G said is the sixth investment for its Asia Pacific living strategy in less than two years. Its holdings span multifamily housing in Japan and South Korea, student accommodation and land lease communities in Australia. M&G first committed A$450 million to Novus in April 2022 through a develop-to-core partnership, acquiring a 95 percent stake in the Novus Build-to-Rent Trust. Globally, M&G Real Estate manages more than $9 billion in living sector strategies.
Market context cited by M&G includes a Cushman & Wakefield survey ranking Australia as the most preferred living investment destination in Asia Pacific, ahead of Japan, and Melbourne rental vacancy of around 1 percent. Nearby, Barings and Aware Super opened the A$405 million, 433-home WeAreLiving Queens tower beside Albert Park in September, which Mingtiandi calculates at about A$935,000 per home, roughly 7 percent below M&G's per-unit price for Bowen Crescent.
The 17-storey building was developed by Novus, M&G's Australian build-to-rent partner. According to M&G, it offers around 26,000 square metres of gross floor area and includes one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with amenities such as co-working space, a gym, a swimming pool, a sauna and a cold plunge. Novus's leasing site lists asking rents starting at A$775 per week for a one-bedroom, A$920 for a two-bedroom and A$1,680 for a three-bedroom unit. Novus acquired the site at 2 Bowen Crescent in 2023 with an existing permit for a 214-unit build-to-sell scheme and redesigned it for rental use. The City of Port Phillip approved the amended plans in February 2024. The property is about 150 metres from Anzac station, which opened on Melbourne's Metro Tunnel line at the end of November last year, and sits roughly two kilometres south of the city centre in the St Kilda Road precinct.
The asset becomes the first build-to-rent investment in M&G's Asia Living Property strategy, which M&G said is the sixth investment for its Asia Pacific living strategy in less than two years. Its holdings span multifamily housing in Japan and South Korea, student accommodation and land lease communities in Australia. M&G first committed A$450 million to Novus in April 2022 through a develop-to-core partnership, acquiring a 95 percent stake in the Novus Build-to-Rent Trust. Globally, M&G Real Estate manages more than $9 billion in living sector strategies.
Market context cited by M&G includes a Cushman & Wakefield survey ranking Australia as the most preferred living investment destination in Asia Pacific, ahead of Japan, and Melbourne rental vacancy of around 1 percent. Nearby, Barings and Aware Super opened the A$405 million, 433-home WeAreLiving Queens tower beside Albert Park in September, which Mingtiandi calculates at about A$935,000 per home, roughly 7 percent below M&G's per-unit price for Bowen Crescent.
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