Living specialist Greystar and ABP, the Netherlands’ largest pension fund, have acquired 560 rental homes in The Hague on behalf of their recently formed Dutch Essential Housing Venture.
The purchase from developer Sustay, for an undisclosed sum, is the second deal on behalf of the €420 mln venture which was launched in June with the aim of delivering much-needed rental homes for mid-income earners, key workers and pensioners in the Netherlands.
Earlier, ABP and Greystar agreed a deal for the construction of 780 homes in Leiden.
The homes in the latest deal form part of the Waldorp Four mixed-use development in the Central Innovation District of The Hague.
Sustay is selling 1,171 homes in the project in total; besides the 560 units allocated to ABP/Greystar, 399 units are being sold to student housing operator Duwo, while another 212 have been earmarked for social housing firm Arcade.
Commenting on the latest deal, Harmen van Wijnen, chairman of ABP, said: ‘The demand for affordable rental housing remains as strong as ever. Investing in rental homes is therefore a stable source of returns for us as a pension fund. ABP has set a goal to invest €10 bn with impact in the Netherlands by 2030, with €5 bn dedicated to affordable rental housing.’
ABP is participating in the strategy via its asset manager APG Asset Management.
Mark Kuijpers, senior Central Europe MD at Greystar, said: ‘It’s fantastic news that, so soon after the launch of the Dutch Essential Housing Venture, we are already able to make a second major investment. Through this project, we are reinvesting Dutch institutional capital in a key employment hub.’
He added: ‘The government’s goal is to build 100,000 homes per year, and investor capital is crucial to achieving that. This project is a substantial contribution to addressing the housing shortage, as it enables large-scale development in a highly accessible location with excellent connectivity to existing infrastructure.’
Image: Paul de Ruiter Architects
