WA Adds $75m Loan Boost to BtR Build Incentives

The build-to-rent sector in the West has won another boost, this time aimed at getting shovels in dirt.

The WA Government has revealed a $75-million Build-to-Rent Kickstart Fund that will offer no or low-interest construction loans through the state Keystart program.

The state already offers a 50 per cent land tax exemption for build-to-rent developments.

The new fund will provide loans for up to 10 years on eligible build-to-rent projects and can be equal to 30 per cent of the construction cost.

The loans are capped at $250,000 an apartment and are designed to be a secondary source of funding.

The fund is something of a change of tack for the Housing Authority program, which has concentrated on helping individual home buyers with financing and the elimination of lenders’ mortgage insurance.

▲ Rendering of Erben’s approved 35-storey hybrid timber build-to-tower planned for 108 Stirling Street in Perth.

Build-to-rent has been slower to emerge in the West, however, a growing number of projects have been put forward this year.

Among those are Oceania Capital Group’s 32-storey tower of 200 apartments in Perth City Link and Erben’s timber-hybrid tower of 351 apartments.

The State Government plans to add 1000 homes to the pipeline and has called for tenders to build 14 projects around Perth that will be split between affordable and social build-to-rent apartments. 

This month construction began on what had been called the state’s first public housing build-to-rent project, a 109-apartment scheme at 49 Smith Street, Highgate, for the Department of Housing and Works, on the former Stirling Towers public housing site.

However, builders Icon are likely to take the title, completing the podium of “Perth’s first 100 per cent public housing build‑to‑rent development” at 195 Pier Street for Development WA last month.

▲ The podium of 195 Pier Street, Perth (left) apartments was completed in July.

That project is a 29-storey tower of 219 apartments that will be owned and operated by a community housing provider.

Registrations opened for the Build-to-Rent Kickstart Fund this week ahead of formal applications for the Keystart loan scheme that are due to open this year.

Keystart also increased the price limits on loans for new homes to $800,000 for buyers on August 20, another government initiatives intended to boost housing supply. 

The next expected to be introduced by the state is a $210-million shared equity expansion. This will provide 1000 shared equity loans for new apartments and townhouses and is expected to be confirmed this year.