Time to Live a Little: Capturing Opportunities in Affordable Housing

In September 2024, abrdn multi-asset Investments Houseview upgraded global direct real estate to overweight for the first time since June 2022. This marks the start of a recovery phase in the typical five-to-seven-year cycle. As we get a foothold on the first rung of the ladder, we cannot allow affordable housing to miss out again this cycle. According to the UN, 1.6 billion people worldwide currently lack adequate housing and basic services, with projections that this number could rise to 3 billion by 2030. At abrdn Investments, we have thirty years’ experience in investing in residential real estate and have amassed a portfolio of over €9 billion in the sector. This sizeable residential platform enables us to make more informed decisions across our strategies. It has also helped us to develop our own methodology to assess the affordability of housing at the market, fund, and asset levels. While we believe investing in affordable housing, is a long-term structural opportunity, timing still matters. Opportunities for private capital are growing today, across a strategic mix of privately managed affordable housing, subsidised housing and social housing, all of which can help alleviate the pressures in housing provision. Germany offers a wide range of national and regional subsidies to support the development of affordable and energy-efficient housing. This complex field varies by state and municipality, requiring in-depth local knowledge and a strong network with developers and banks. In this webinar, we will examine the measurement of affordability and delve into the opportunities to invest in affordable and subsidised housing. We will showcase examples of subsidies in Germany, their benefits, and the challenges and risks involved and demonstrate why local expertise is crucial across timing, design, and quality of affordable living. Join us as we explore these opportunities and redefine what it means to live affordably in today’s economic landscape.