The Living Company, a leading Australian housing developer, on Thursday opened an office in Seoul to target South Korea’s residential market. The move prompted expectations that other global asset managers may follow suit to meet the growing demand for rental homes, given the increasing single-person households in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The Living Company, which manages over A$13 billion ($8.5 billion) in assets, plans to focus on rental housing in South Korea through partnerships with local institutional investors, investment banking industry sources in Seoul said.
The developer has been cooperating with the country’s state-run National Pension Service (NPS).
The world’s third-largest pension fund has partnered with Australia’s student housing specialist Scape to clinch a record A$3.85 billion deal to acquire senior living operator Aveo Retirement Homes Ltd. from Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The Living Company is the parent of Scape.
The NPS, South Korea’s largest institutional investor, committed A$700 million to a 1,000-unit student housing development project by Scape in Sydney earlier this year. In 2020, The Living Company attracted money from the NPS for a purpose-built student Accommodation (PBSA) fund.
TO DIRECTLY DEVELOP AND MANAGE
The Living Company’s Seoul office is its first overseas unit to develop and manage residential real estate. It has offices in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and others, but only for sales.
With the Seoul office, the developer is predicted to expand its business to Japan, Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
In South Korea, The Living Company aims to leverage its decade-long experience in residential asset development, operation, and management accumulated in Australia.
The Living Company initially plans to focus on student housing and urban rental housing for those aged 18 to 40. In the long term, it plans to expand into the senior living segment to create an integrated residential platform that serves all age groups in South Korea.
The company will hire a head of the Seoul office by the end of this year and set up an investment team for full-scale investment operations.
The office is expected to serve as a hub for strengthening partnerships with domestic institutional investors, conducting in-depth research on the local housing market, and planning new projects.
TOP IN AUSTRALIA’S STUDENT HOUSING SECTOR
Scape, The Living Company’s student accommodation platform, became the leading Australian player in the student housing sector with 18,500 beds in 38 buildings across the country’s four key educational precincts – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
The company aggressively expanded the business to meet Australia’s chronic housing shortage and a surge in immigrants and international students.
In 2023, The Living company launched Rent-to-Live, a brand for build-to-rent (BTR), which refers to residential properties, typically apartment buildings or single-family homes, developed specifically for the purpose of renting rather than for sale.
By Gyeong-Jin Min
min@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
