HOPE Housing Fund Management, a co-investment fund designed to aid essential workers in purchasing their own homes, has been awarded a unique rating by Evergreen Ratings, marking a first in Australia for a shared equity residential property fund.
Evergreen Ratings has evaluated the fund as “satisfactory,” recognising HOPE’s capacity to achieve its investment goal of a 10% return for investors.
Tim Buskens (pictured above), CEO of HOPE, expressed his satisfaction with the rating, highlighting it as a significant acknowledgment for a new fund that introduces a novel approach to social impact investing.
“This strong result shows the shared equity model we have pioneered at HOPE is a win for both homeowners and investors,” Buskens said. “To be the first fund of its kind to receive a rating from Evergreen reflects HOPE’s innovative asset valuation solution and asset selection process.
“HOPE is a demonstrated and workable solution to the housing affordability crisis facing essential workers – and potentially other middle-income workers who are being forgotten by existing government and private schemes – allowing essential workers to buy a home of their choosing while also protecting and growing the interests of investors.”
HOPE enables essential workers, and potentially other middle-income employees overlooked by current schemes, to purchase homes while offering investors both protection and growth of their interests. The fund operates by co-investing with essential workers in residential properties, sharing in the capital growth.
Evergreen’s independent analysis praised the HOPE fund for its contribution to social impact investing, providing access to a unique asset class, and its structured investment decision process supported by the Investor Advisory Committee.
“Evergreen’s independent analysis highlights HOPE’s robust asset valuation solution, strategic asset selection process, and the notable social impact it creates,” said Angela Ashton, director and founder of Evergreen. “This rating affirms HOPE's position as a leader in social impact investing, providing investors with access to capital growth and diversification benefits in the residential property market.”
The fund’s approach not only offers investors exposure to the residential property market’s capital growth but also diversification benefits from an asset class usually uncorrelated with traditional asset classes. With a careful selection of assets, HOPE investors have the potential for superior residential returns compared to conventional property investments.
CoreLogic’s latest data indicated that owner-occupier properties have historically offered a higher profitability rate than investor-owned properties, further supporting the value proposition of HOPE’s model.
The fund responds to the challenges faced by essential workers in Sydney and Melbourne, who struggle to afford homes near their workplaces, by providing a co-investment solution that benefits both homeowners and investors.
HOPE Housing, in partnership with Police Bank, offers up to a 50% equity contribution in homes for eligible frontline workers, financed by investors seeking stable returns from the residential property sector. This model represents a new direction in owner-occupied real estate investment, addressing a pressing social issue while offering financial returns.
For detailed insights, read the HOPE Housing Ratings Report.
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