Commerz Real's property fund Hausinvest has unveiled plans to move into residential investment, spending around €2 bn on housing over the next five years, in partnership with residential specialist, Wertgrund Immobilien.
According to the fund manager, Hausinvest will target new, large residential schemes - including public social housing - with a minimum volume of €50 mln in German cities and expanding, medium-sized towns. Investment in European markets is also on the cards in the long term.
Andreas Muschter, CEO of Commerz Real said: ‘Residential real estate is a very interesting asset class and excellently suited to further diversifying the portfolio of Hausinvest. On the one hand, our investors profit from the experience and market access of a successful specialist such as Wertgrund, on the other hand from the familiar high quality of our fund management.’
The announcement marks a new direction for Hausinvest, which has until now been focused primarily upon commercial real estate, with investments totalling €14.4 bn and a smattering of residential properties in mixed-use schemes.
While Commerz Real will select the properties to be purchased and direct the fund management, Wertgrund will execute the transactions, and be responsible for the entire asset and property management arc.
Commenting on the partnership, Thomas Meyer, a Wertgrund Immobilien board member, said: 'With the capital strength of Commerz Real and our expertise in the field of residential real estate, we intend to develop a residential real estate portfolio throughout Germany and Europe in the medium to long term. In this respect, we set great store by partnerships with project developers and local councils above all. The first projects are already in the exclusive acquisition assessment phase.’
