Over 24 months, Stockland, Mirvac, Avid and Yolk have moved into land lease; will corporatisation kill the family vibe?

In the early 2000s, the top end of town fell in love with the retirement village sector, buying up the pioneer family operators and severely damaging the sector’s invested personal engagement along the way. Will it happen again with land lease?

Traditionally dominated by ‘Mum and Dad’ operators, the land lease sector has now evolved into a $12 billion industry that is accepted by both the banks and institutional players.

Despite a softening in the market, the returns – and the investor appetite for land lease – remains strong with Mirvac and AVID the latest property developers backed by private equity – to enter the sector.

“It seems like there is an insatiable appetite from not only the existing operators, but new capital, both large and small,” said Liam Greentree, Valuations & Advisory Services Director, Alternative Assets at CBRE.