CBRE has appointed Andrew Purdon to a newly created Pacific role as regional director – living sectors, capital markets, to drive the firm’s service offering in the build-to-rent (BTR), purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and co-living sectors.
Purdon has worked in senior roles in CBRE’s UK development and residential capital markets team for over 10 years and was most recently the UK head of co-living transactions.
In his new role, he will be based in Sydney and build a dedicated Pacific capital markets team to provide development and investment advice to landowners, developers, and investors.
“I’ve been tracking the Pacific BTR market for several years and have been struck by the similarities with the early stages of growth for this sector in the UK,” he said, adding that the growth potential in Australia and New Zealand is “huge”.
The sector’s key renting cohort of 20 to 39-year-olds is forecast to increase in Australia by approximately 1.4 million to total 8.7 million by 2040.
“This demographic will largely aspire to live within the largest cities, close to jobs, and experience a connected, urban lifestyle,” Purdon said.
Population growth, lifestyle preferences of the under 40s and affordability constraints of home ownership are creating a deeper pool of renters. Record low vacancy rates and rental product which lacked consistency and offered minimal services would also drive the rise in the Pacific BTR market, Purdon said, upgrading the overall lifestyle experience for renters while delivering rental and capital growth to investors.
Institutional investment in the residential sector in Europe and the US represented 30% and 44% of total investment volumes respectively in 2021.
“Andrew’s skills and experience will provide our Australian and New Zealand businesses with a real point of differentiation as we grow our platform to support our clients targeting alternative investment opportunities,” Mark Coster, CBRE’s Pacific head of capital markets, said.
