As part of deverellsmith’s ‘A New Lease of Life’ sub-series, Head of Build to Rent Nick Hammond speaks to Local’s Matt Berg about where the Australian Build to Rent market is looking for inspiration from.
Following 17 years in the property industry, Matt Berg co-founded Local in 2021, helping to bring the Build to Rent sector to Australia. Matt has been in the Australian Build to Rent sector for the past nine years and can be credited with the origination and delivery of over 3,000 apartments.
Matt’s professional career began at CBRE and JLL as a tenant rep. His career quickly evolved in the development world, first as an analyst with a well-known builder.
In 2014, Matt was exposed to the Build to Rent sector, winning the Commonwealth Games Village project which was held on the Gold Coast. This was a significant project, with 1,250 units.
Matt recognises that although new, Build to Rent is a catalyst in combining the key elements of property, commercial, retail or industrial, making it an attractive prospect for developers and investors alike.
Although not as well-established as the UK Build to Rent market, Matt believes that Australia is on-track to becoming leaders in Build to Rent as it can learn from the mistakes and successes of its overseas counterpart.
