Over the years, MaxCap has established itself as one of the largest non-bank lenders in the Australian real estate sector. Founded in 2007 by Wayne Lasky and Brae Sokolski, MaxCap has offices in Australia’s largest capital cities, as well as Auckland, something which MaxCap’s Head of Direct Investment, Simon Hulett, says gives the investment house a significant advantage when it comes to engaging with its clients.

“We have a lot of experience across Australia and New Zealand, with teams based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland. This provides a wealth of local knowledge across different real estate asset classes as well as the ability to meaningfully grow and nurture relationships with our clients. Commercial real estate is a vast and complex sector and every market has its own unique characteristics, particularly in the residential sector,” Hulett says.

MaxCap invests across the full spectrum of the capital stack, including both credit and equity markets, markets which are generally inversely correlated through different cycles. This has been evidenced over the course of the last few years where interest rates initially sat at record lows, before jumping to 13-year highs.

Hulett says 2025 represents a year of opportunity, including in the residential development sector. After a few years of turbulence, the market is stabilising and showing signs of positivity.

“The new apartment market has had to overcome a lot of challenges over the last few years. Labour and construction price increases combined with higher interest rates impacting the ability to borrow, for both developers and their prospective buyers, has led to a severe reduction in new project activations” Hulett says.

“A rate cut in February, and hopefully more throughout the year, combined with the federal election and a stabilisation in the geopolitical landscape, should be the catalyst for a turn around in sentiment from both capital markets and purchasers. That is an exciting prospect for the market”

Speaking on bank v non-bank lending, Hulett says there are two schools of thought around intangible and tangible differences as to why non-bank lending could be preferable for a developer.

“The intangibles are the relationships and collaboration we offer as a partner in a project,” Hulett says. “Our business very much takes a relationship driven approach. How we conduct ourselves in challenging times and support our clients to deliver great outcomes is what preserves and enhances our reputation in market and drives repeat business. This also drives the strongest risk-adjusted outcomes for our investors.”

“The tangible differences come from the flexibility that non-bank lenders are able to provide to developers and asset owners, which is critical in the understanding that every client and every asset is unique and requires a tailored approach.

Hulett says that for a long time, before non-bank lenders starting to become a viable option for developers, the developer and lender relationship was more transactional and less flexible. 

Hulett says there are opportunities in what the market refers to as the “living sector”, which isn’t just residential development.

“The living sector is a multi-layered asset class that is far from homogenous and varies greatly across different geographies and sub-markets. The living sector includes detached homes, apartments, hotels, student housing, co-living, build-to-rent, land lease communities and more,” Hulett says.

“There is undoubtedly a major housing shortage, with limited supply forecast to be delivered nationally over the short-to-medium term and a growing population. In recent times, it has been non-bank lenders who have largely supported the creation of new supply across the living sector from a funding perspective and this is likely to continue. We are actively investing across all elements of the living sector and are determined to activate supply where it is feasible.”

MaxCap is working side by side with Time & Place and Hickory in Melbourne on the Queensbridge Building in Southbank which will be the only high-rise residential tower development in the City of Melbourne LGA to complete in 2025. MaxCap has worked with Time & Place on several ventures, also in the industrial development space.

In Sydney they’re working with Central Element on Ethos Chatswood which is rising out of the ground and will be complete in 2025. And in Perth, MaxCap has partnered with Australian Unity to deliver a new Purpose Built Student Accommodation tower in the CBD, also due to be completed in 2025.

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