Mapletree Signals Office Exit as WA Deal Leads in PBSA Play

Singaporean giant Mapletree has signalled it is possibly exiting the office sector and announced its entry into the student living sector in Australia with an acquisition in Perth. The global real estate development, investment, capital and property management firm has acquired from Alceon a 32-storey development site at 609 Wellington Street in Perth worth an estimated $300 million on completion. But its student housing chief executive Matt Walker told The Urban Developer this is only the beginning of a four-year, $7-billion splurge into global student housing—with Australian markets at the top of the company’s target list. “The Australian student housing sector is well positioned for long-term growth and we are excited to mark our entry with this premium 835-bed development,” Walker said. “We aim to grow our student housing assets under management globally from $SG5.3 billion [$A6.3 billion] as at March 31, 2025 to $SG$11 billion [$A13.09 billion] as at March 31, 2029. “We want to achieve scale in Australia and look forward to doing more deals over the coming years with a focus on the top five cities—Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.” CBRE estimates the sector faces a 180,000-bed shortfall, with just 6 per cent of students able to access PBSA housing on or near campus. The Perth project is a formidable bridgehead into the sector, with 15,200sq m of lettable area about 350m from Edith Cowan University and 900m from Curtin University Law School. Alceon will retain delivery of the project. Construction is expected to complete in December of 2027 and operations begin in February, 2028. An on-site cafe, gym, cinema and rooftop recreation area are planned, and a 5 Green Star rating is being targeted. The project began development under UniLodge in 2023 . A big bet on the high life for students The Temasek-owned Mapletree has pivoted heavily into PBSA and early-stage projects in recent years. In the year to March 31, 2025, assets under development grew from $4.41 billion to $6.55 billion, an increase of almost 50 per cent. Over the same timeframe, Mapletree grew from the seventh to the fourth-largest PBSA operator in the UK, spending $2.02 billion across UK and German student housing assets. Walker told The Urban Developer that Australia’s high levels of tertiary enrolment and the international reputation of its universities made it an attractive target for the company’s repositioning. ▲ Australian PBSA is a priority for Mapletree's investment strategy. “As one of the [Mapletree] group’s core sectors, student housing remains a key focus given its supportive fundamentals, favourable demand-supply dynamics and countercyclical nature,” he said. An undersupplied market is another pull factor. But with plenty of competitive projects under way and tight margins in the sector, Walker said Mapletree is focusing on top-of-the-line product to differentiate. “Since there is a lack of quality stock available on the market, we decided to participate in development opportunities, such as this 609 Wellington Street project, which will allow us to achieve better returns with higher yields on costs while bringing higher quality products to the market. “As a real estate investor, developer, capital and property manager, we are committed to exploring both investment and development opportunities aligned with our long-term growth.” Walker is also keeping an eye on potential caps to student visa numbers, or other risks to the Mapletree strategy, but thinks Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide could benefit as the sector evolves. Mapletree looking for an exit from office Separately, the Mapletree group is looking to cycle out of a heavy pre-pandemic play into Australian office space, with an eye to divesting assets across the country. A Mapletree spokesperson told The Urban Developer that the group’s MASCOT fund, a 2019-vintage office vehicle, is “nearing the end of fund life”. With $1.4 billion under management at inception, a sell-off should provide plenty of fuel to cycle into other sectors. “Amid an improving interest rate environment and recovering leasing market, we anticipate strong interest from domestic and offshore investors in [MASCOT’s] properties,” the spokesperson told The Urban Developer . A tranche of the fund’s assets underwent campaigns in July. The portfolio includes a 14,910sq m, eight-storey tower at 78 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park, around 400m from the Macquarie University Metro station; and a 21-storey, 31,405sq m building at 11 Waymouth Street, Adelaide, which is 82 per cent leased to government tenants. ▲ Adelaide’s 21-storey 11 Waymouth Street was among several Mapletree properties recently marketed. In Victoria, CBRE and Knight Frank ran a campaign for the 10-storey, 20,184sq m office asset at 417 St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Mapletree’s 144 Montague site in South Brisbane went on the block in July. The tower boasts 13,811sq m of floorspace, with about 42 per cent let by state government clients, and income of $6.96 million annually. Knight Frank marketed that building as an “opportunity to acquire a high-quality office asset significantly below replacement cost”. Details of the final transactions have yet to be released. Meanwhile, Mapletree is continuing to explore the logistics sector with a December 2024 development site acquisition in NSW, as well as projects under way at Logan in South-East Queensland. Singapore is Australia’s sixth-largest source of foreign direct investment, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. About $52 billion is pushed into Australian real estate by Singaporeans each year, making up 36.8 per cent of total capital flows.

Mapletree Signals Office Exit as WA Deal Leads in PBSA Play

Get the full story.

Melbourne’s VCAT Bypass Welcomed, Construction Still Years Away

Density Takes Centre Stage in Perth’s Great Urban Reset

Unloved Buildings Untapped Opportunity in Australia’s Cost Crunch

Death to the Basement: Cost, Time, Demand Drive Underground Parking Rethink

Marina Mirage Pivotal Moment for Gold Coast’s Luxury Future: Fraser

The Iran Conflict & Its Impact on Construction 2026

Explained: Brisbane's Proposed LMR Zoning 2026

What Lies Beneath: What developers need to know about basements and groundwater in NSW 2026

Sydney Developer Outlook Lunch Series | Panel | Jessica Kelley, Ben Finger & Pierre Sleiman

Melbourne’s VCAT Bypass Welcomed, Construction Still Years Away

Robina Proposal Leans into Rise of ‘Clean’ Industrial Sector

Aged Care Backed for Former Adelaide Fish Factory Site

The Supply Chain Fix Major Projects Have Been Waiting For

The Urban Developer Awards for Industry Excellence