A Methodology-Driven Approach to Real Estate Investment

As an active real estate investment manager, we’ve built our investment strategy around a distinctive approach to market analysis. Rather than pursuing simple market timing, we focus on identifying whether a market is trending upward or downward across different regions and sectors. The crucial question isn’t whether market conditions are good or bad but whether they’re improving or deteriorating.

Ark’s methodology drives our investment decisions across our portfolio, which spans key market segments, primarily in;

1. residential,
2. commercial, and
3. industrial assets.

To maintain current market intelligence, we operate a dedicated team that maintains an active presence in target markets, constantly analysing, and talking to the key stakeholders and market participants. This is supplemented by our research partnership with Urbis, producing bi-annual market outlooks that inform us of macro and micro factors that are impacting geographies, sectors and asset types. 

For example, our approach to the Western Australian residential market illustrates this in action. In 2021, our research and on–the–ground presence helped us form the view that due to the factors of relative affordability, strong population growth, limited supply and a strong state economic base, we liked the residential land sector. We then made our first investment in early 2022, which has become one of our strongest land development deals, including being the fastest selling land subdivision in the Ark book. We have since made two further investments in the WA market, both supported by these ongoing strong fundamentals.

Our analysis of the Australian residential market identified divergent opportunities across regions, with Southeast Queensland, Adelaide and Perth showing strong growth patterns while Sydney remained flat, and Melbourne experienced negative growth.

The Melbourne market has proven particularly instructive. Despite positive fundamentals including strong population growth and restricted supply, the market has faced headwinds from government policy, taxation settings and declining consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, Southeast Queensland has benefited from affordability advantages and strong economic fundamentals with additional momentum in the lead up to the 2032 Olympics.

Over the last 2-4 years, we’ve had a strong appetite for good quality residential land investments in Brisbane, Adelaide and Western Australia. These markets have proven our investment thesis correct, with these investments generally delivering on or ahead of program and on or above investment returns.

For every opportunity, we ask ourselves: are conditions getting better or worse in this market? This question drives not only investment decisions but also how individual investments are structured. As market conditions continue to evolve, we will continue to apply our methodology driven approach to market analysis.

We believe the best investment decisions are built on insight, not instinct. If you’re curious about how to navigate the complexities of real estate investment across changing market cycles, we’d love to connect. Get in touch to learn how you can achieve stronger more resilient returns.