Q. Why do you think it’s important for individuals across the sector to come together at Property Week’s Resi360 Conference?

A. Resi360 provides a unique platform for collaboration, making it a great opportunity for professionals across the residential property sector to connect, share insights and build invaluable relationships. As the event brings together a diverse range of experts, I’m personally looking forward to being in an environment where ideas can be shared and new solutions can be explored. Residential is still relatively nascent as an institutional sector within the UK so there are a lot of unknowns that the industry is still figuring out. The more collaboration and sharing of experiences, the better.

Q. What insights are you most excited to share in your session and why?

A. I'm particularly excited to share insights on the transformative impact of PropTech in reshaping the residential real estate sector. At IMMO, we've seen firsthand how AI and data-driven technologies can unlock opportunities in residential property investment which haven’t been possible through traditional methods. I'll be discussing how these technologies work, from streamlining the property acquisition process to enabling more dynamic asset management. Allowing investors to make smarter and more informed decisions, thereby optimising returns. I’m also looking forward to discussing how sustainability and energy-efficient retrofitting projects are becoming integral to property investment strategies, aligning with the industry's growing focus on ESG principles. It’ll be interesting to hear the views of other professionals on how we can drive significant improvements in environmental impact and residential portfolios. IMMO’s main market to date has been Germany, where the residential market is significantly more mature than the UK and there are a lot of learnings(good and bad!) to be shared, from markets that are further ahead in their journey.

Q. How are changes in investment trends impacting the sector?

A. The institutional interest in SFR has been growing within the UK, which is good news for the sector. To date and within the UK, it’s mostly been directed towards new-build schemes, however there is a growing interest in existing residential. This is how the SFR sector developed and matured within the US post-GFC - 96% of institutional investment into US SFR has been into existing stock. And across wider Europe, their housing stock is mainly MFH and in mature residential markets such as Germany, the majority of residential transactions are of existing MFH assets. So it makes sense for the UK to also start embracing investment into existing stock. The need to decarbonise and retrofit the UK’s housing stock is no small feat and the private sector has a significant role they can play here. By aggregating existing assets and executing brown-green retrofit strategies, the quality of UK’s existing housing stock will improve, benefiting both investors and tenants.

Q. If you could describe the residential market over the past year in a short sentence, what would it be?

A. Stuck (for many reasons), but becoming a bit more optimistic as interest rates start to rise and a change in Government which will hopefully (!) unlock the planning system.

Q. What do you hope to see change in the industry over the next year?

A. As interest rates continue to slowly fall and (a few) more deals start to meet investor’s target returns, I think many across the industry will be looking forward to see transactions start flowing again.

Q. What people or companies would you be most excited to see at this event?

A. We definitely need additional new supply to address the extreme supply/demand imbalances within the market, but I’m mostly excited to meet and hear from investors and advisors, alike, who are also focused on tackling the challenge of decarbonising existing residential and not just building new.

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