Pension fund ABP pushing €350 mil. into building starter homes, student housing
Pension fund ABP is investing €350 million into the construction of 2,000 homes aimed at first-time buyers and students. The Netherlands' largest pension fund will work with investment platform Rockfield on this project, targeting these population groups because they are increasingly struggling in the housing market. In this way, ABP wants to help alleviate the Netherlands’ housing shortage, while also gaining good real estate investments, NU.nl reports.
This investment proved to be more of a challenge than expected. “It is quite difficult to find homes to invest in in the Netherlands,” ABP chairman Harmen van Wijnen told the newspaper. “We could perhaps have invested the money more easily in housing construction in another European country, but in this way, we also contribute to Dutch society. Our participants are here.”
ABP specifically teamed up with Rockfield for this project because the investment platform specializes in creating spaces where people want to live. These will not be anonymous housing complexes, but a collection of homes with independent living spaces and communal areas for things like studying, socializing, and sports, Van Wijnen said. Rockfield will provide community managers who know the residents and organize activities.
“The business perspective is that people live comfortably. Our partner Rockfield is very good at that. It remains important that we have residential complexes where people live comfortably and that we know for sure will stay that way,” Van Wijnen said.
Investing in housing works out for the Dutch society, and for the pension fund and its members. “Besides stocks and bonds, rental properties are a very good investment,” Van Wijnen told the newspaper. “In return, we receive rental income that rises in line with inflation. Maintenance costs do have to be deducted from that, though.”
The pension fund decided a few years ago to invest more in the Dutch housing market while phasing out investments in fossil fuels. ABP intends to invest €5 billion annually into affordable rental housing over the coming years. The pension fund previously announced another €350 million investment into rental homes for senior citizens.
