Global private equity giant Blackstone has flagged a deeper commitment to the Australian property market, with a focus on build-to-rent housing, logistics, and data centres, three areas it sees as key growth pillars across its $600 billion global real estate platform.
Blackstone Real Estate global co-head Kathleen McCarthy said the firm is keen to help address Australia’s housing crisis, particularly by expanding its presence in the underdeveloped build-to-rent sector.
While Blackstone has already launched projects locally, including its Realm Caulfield complex in Melbourne, Ms McCarthy believes there is potential to do more.
“We’re really a pioneer in the build-to-rent space,” she told The Australian.
“We would love to be doing more, but the economics are tough — especially for foreign investors. Additional taxes on overseas capital make it harder for us to scale.”
Ms McCarthy emphasised that rental housing makes up around a quarter of Blackstone’s property holdings globally, from luxury residences to affordable housing, with the company already holding strong positions in both the US and UK markets.
Australia, she says, remains full of untapped opportunity, particularly as the country grapples with supply shortages and affordability challenges.
Alongside housing, Ms McCarthy singled out logistics and data centres as major focus areas, driven by the ongoing expansion of e-commerce, cloud services and the early effects of AI adoption.
In 2023, Blackstone cemented its role in the region with its $24 billion acquisition of AirTrunk, giving it significant scale in Asia-Pacific’s fast-growing data infrastructure market.
“Much of the demand we’re seeing — even before the AI boom — is driven by the need for cloud-based capacity,” she said.
“We’re not betting on which tech company wins; we’re focused on building the infrastructure they’ll all need.”
For real estate professionals in Australia, the continued involvement of global players like Blackstone signals not just capital interest, but a push for structural change, particularly in areas like build-to-rent where institutional backing could help shape the sector’s future.
