Bouwinvest Residential Fund delivers 13.7% return, outperforming the IPD benchmark

The Bouwinvest Residential Fund outperformed the IPD Netherlands Annual Residential Property Index for the sixth year in a row in 2015, lifted by rising property prices and demand for rental accommodation in the Randstad conurbation - the main focus for the portfolio. The Fund generated a total return of 13.7% last year, compared with the 11% performance of the benchmark index.

The Fund has generated a 6.6% average annual total return over the past three years and averaged 5.0% a year since 2011, a performance that exceeds the returns of the benchmark for the same periods, at 5.3% and 3.6% respectively.

Last year’s returns were achieved mainly through the Fund’s indirect result, reflecting the surge in house prices in the Netherlands. The Fund’s portfolio consists of 15,000 mid-priced private sector rental homes, with high sustainability standards, for families, smaller households, first-time renters and the elderly. More than 80% of the portfolio is located in the Randstad conurbation of the central Netherlands, with the largest proportion in Amsterdam. The portfolio has an occupancy rate of almost 98%, reflecting the strong demand for rental accommodation.

“This great result is the result of the team’s hard work during the last few years. Good acquisitions mean the Fund has a development pipeline worth approximately €690 million which will grow its assets under management to more than €4 billion in the coming years”, said Michiel de Bruine, Head of Residential Asset Management at Bouwinvest. 

Eleven new institutions have invested in the Fund during the past two and a half years and Bouwinvest expects to welcome more in coming years.