The Residential Fund at a glance

The Bouwinvest Dutch Institutional Residential Fund has a clear focus on high-quality residential properties in the mid-rental sector and the core regions it has identified on the basis of their solid economic and demographic outlook. This focus puts the Fund in an excellent position to provide consistently solid returns with inflation-hedge characteristics.

Fund characteristics

• Largest unleveraged Dutch residential fund
• Core investment style
• 6.0% long-term average annual Fund return target
• Robust governance structure
• Investment structure for indefinite period of time
• Reporting in accordance with INREV standards

Fund management

Bouwinvest is the manager and Statutory Director of the Residential Fund. The Bouwinvest Board of Directors is responsible for Bouwinvest’s long-term strategy, as well as the day-to-day management of the organisation itself and its assets under management. Bouwinvest’s Dutch Investments business unit is responsible for all real estate investments in the Netherlands. This business unit has a dedicated asset management team specialised in the residential real estate sector, with experts in acquisition, divestment, exploitation and letting.

Our vision of the Dutch residential investment market

• Promising long-term outlook
• Stable, inflation-hedged income returns
• Interesting opportunities for value growth
• Performance mainly driven by demographic developments, affordability and income development
• Demand for rental homes in the mid-rental segment remains high
• Continued shortage in housing market offers long-term investment potential

Our approach

• Maintain a diversified portfolio of high-quality rental properties
• Focus on the mid-rental sector
• Located in attractive residential areas in economically and demographically strong regions
• Focus on acquisition of newly-developed assets
• Assets designed to meet tenants’ demand for sustainable and life-cycle proof accommodation

Acquisitions

We have a clear vision of what makes a desirable asset for the residential portfolio. Thanks to our hands-on approach, we are frequently involved in new residential projects at a very early stage. This gives us the opportunity to use our knowledge and experience to optimise the project for our specific target groups in a particular city or region. In our acquisition process, the construction of homes starts only once the sales agreement has been concluded. This creates a time lag between the agreement and the completion of the homes.

Divestments

The Fund's aim is to continuously optimise its portfolio, by creating a well-balanced portfolio of homes that meet the demands of a wide range of clearly identified target groups. If individual buildings or complexes underperform in terms of our targeted returns, we may decide to sell. That is unless we see an opportunity to upgrade a building or complex to meet the needs of today's increasingly demanding tenants.

Fund strategy: Growth

The Residential Fund aims to increase its assets under management to € 3.4 billion by 2017. This will be achieved through targeted acquisitions and a forecast positive revaluation from 2014 onwards. Capitalising on key market developments, the Fund’s acquisition strategy focuses on:

• The Fund’s core regions
  with a specific focus on the Randstad conurbation and a preference for inner-city areas.
• The liberalised rental sector
  The liberalised rental sector (rents of € 711 and up) is especially interesting for the Fund, as rent increases are not subject to government restrictions
• The mid-rental sector
  With an average monthly rent of € 927, the focus of the Fund continues to be on the mid-rental segment (rents between € 711 and € 1,200).
• Starter homes, homes for one-person and two-person households and family homes
  Apart from the fact that there is an unanswered and growing demand for rental housing for smaller households in the large cities, we also see a large demand for family homes in the Fund’s core regions.
• ‘Lifecycle-proof’ homes or residential environments for elderly people
  Although the rental market is often already very suitable for seniors, thanks to its flexibility, we will consider additional ‘lifecycle-proofing’ of certain properties. We are planning to look at the technical adjustments and services required to accommodate the senior segment.
• Homes with above-average energy-efficiency
  The Fund’s sustainability-related ambitions are focused on increasing the sustainability performance and attractiveness of its properties, and by doing so, increasing the value of the Fund’s property portfolio.