Qualitas says Australia’s next housing cycle is starting, with residential projects accounting for about 90 per cent of the $1.4 billion in investments the non-bank lender has earmarked for investment in the first seven weeks of the current financial year alone.
Surging construction costs that dogged existing projects and investment decisions had moderated and developers were more comfortable about signing contracts with builders, he said. “They buy land and get a planning permit, but the next thing is to get a construction cost and lock it down,” he said. “Then they come to someone like us for finance, then get presales. Banks need presales and a lot of presales.”