Co-living and build-to-rent: the institutional thesis arriving for retail investors
Two asset classes that lived inside super funds and REITs are now accessible at retail scale — and both qualify for post-2027 tax treatment.
Co-living (purpose-built shared accommodation with private bedrooms and shared common areas) and build-to-rent (institutional-grade rental towers) have been the preserve of super funds and listed REITs for a decade. The 2026 Budget's new-build carve-out, combined with smaller fractionalised offerings, brings both within reach of sophisticated retail investors.
The yield profiles are stronger than traditional residential. The operational profiles are very different.
Why the timing matters
Both asset classes thrive in environments of structural rental undersupply — exactly the environment the Budget's supply-side measures concede will persist into the early 2030s. Investors who allocate now are pricing against a clearing market; investors who wait will price against a tightened one.
Dax Stanley
Founder & Principal Strategist, Hera Property. #1 international bestselling author of Real Estate Investing Using ChatGPT.