Build-to-rent is no "housing policy silver bullet"

Last month, an Ernest & Young report, commissioned by the Property Council of Australia (PCA), claimed that providing federal budget support for build-to-rent (BTR) housing could result in an additional 150,000 homes over the next 10 years.

“The potential to create 150,000 homes over the next 10 years with just one asset class shows build-to-rent is about as close to a housing policy silver bullet as they come”, PCA chief executive Mike Zorbas said.

The latest federal budget obliged the PCA by increasing tax incentives for BTR projects, namely:

increasing the depreciation rate for eligible BTR projects from 2.5% to 4%, and
reducing the ‘managed investment trust’ withholding tax rate for eligible BTR projects from 30% to 15%.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Build-to-rent is no “housing policy silver bullet”