Article | Intelligent Investment
Business Insights | Quality assets set to dominate alongside seniors housing boom
Australia’s prominent property leaders discuss where they see the best market opportunities to tap into in 2026.
January 28, 2026
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Traditional trends that were once consistent and reliable are increasingly becoming more unpredictable.
To help shed light on these market uncertainties, CBRE’s Talking Property podcast enlisted the help of four Australian property leaders to uncover where they see the best market opportunities to tap into.
The first part of these insights come via the leaders of a major superannuation fund and an Australian REIT/developer - Mirvac Group CEO and Managing Director, Campbell Hanan, and Aware Super’s Senior Portfolio Manager, Property Investments, Anjana Moran.
“We're moving into quite a different real estate environment compared to what we've seen in the last 15 years,” says Campbell.
“It will be one of those markets where the quality of what you own and the location it sits in is going to dominate the return profile. When we look at real estate opportunities from a Mirvac perspective, we're trying to find those opportunities where we see the best opportunities for inflation in rent which are now becoming very specific around location and quality.”
Modular buildings: Another area Mirvac is currently focusing on is improving the productivity of construction.
“How do we think about innovation in modular construction to drive more consistency in designs and standardisation? It’s about leaning into productivity,” says Campbell.
“All of those have been an important opportunity and potentially a transformational event for the industry if we can crack the code on building more productively than we have in the last four years.”
Mirvac’s current Western Sydney project involves a full volumetric house being built – that is, a house that was fully built and completed in a factory setting.
“It's in five different pods and those pods arrived by truck to site. And in the first two days we've put the structure together,” Campbell explains.
“It’s where the kitchens, bathrooms, and everything is finished. The only thing we need to do is add furniture. We believe this whole prefab sector is just ripe for innovation and change, because this is going to be a great way for us to tackle the cost of inflation in construction.”
When it comes to the question of quality, these modular houses can be built in a factory where tolerances can be down to 0.1 of a millimetre.
“You have an extraordinary quality setting, putting them together and then how it looks as a finished product. There's a whole design element for that. And Mirvac, as a business with a deep and rich history in design, has certainly spent a huge amount of time trying to get these designs right."
“Specifically, we see really great opportunities in seniors housing or retirement living,” says Anjana.
“That's a sector where we currently have quite a bit of exposure, and we continue to have conviction in those demographic tailwinds.
“When we think about developed countries around the world with an aging population in 2026, it’s the year that the oldest baby boomers turn 80. For us, that's a resilient sector that we continue to see opportunity in, and it doesn’t boom and bust; it’s just a steady performer since we first invested in 2017.”
The proof can be found in two platforms Aware Super currently invests in: Keyton Retirement Villages and Oak Tree Retirement Villages.
“We're looking for potential opportunities offshore in that space as well,” Anjana adds.
To help shed light on these market uncertainties, CBRE’s Talking Property podcast enlisted the help of four Australian property leaders to uncover where they see the best market opportunities to tap into.
The first part of these insights come via the leaders of a major superannuation fund and an Australian REIT/developer - Mirvac Group CEO and Managing Director, Campbell Hanan, and Aware Super’s Senior Portfolio Manager, Property Investments, Anjana Moran.
Where the big opportunities exist
Location and quality: In 2026, there will be no free kicks from interest rates and bonds to help in thematic investing.“We're moving into quite a different real estate environment compared to what we've seen in the last 15 years,” says Campbell.
“It will be one of those markets where the quality of what you own and the location it sits in is going to dominate the return profile. When we look at real estate opportunities from a Mirvac perspective, we're trying to find those opportunities where we see the best opportunities for inflation in rent which are now becoming very specific around location and quality.”
Modular buildings: Another area Mirvac is currently focusing on is improving the productivity of construction.
“How do we think about innovation in modular construction to drive more consistency in designs and standardisation? It’s about leaning into productivity,” says Campbell.
“All of those have been an important opportunity and potentially a transformational event for the industry if we can crack the code on building more productively than we have in the last four years.”
Mirvac’s current Western Sydney project involves a full volumetric house being built – that is, a house that was fully built and completed in a factory setting.
“It's in five different pods and those pods arrived by truck to site. And in the first two days we've put the structure together,” Campbell explains.
“It’s where the kitchens, bathrooms, and everything is finished. The only thing we need to do is add furniture. We believe this whole prefab sector is just ripe for innovation and change, because this is going to be a great way for us to tackle the cost of inflation in construction.”
When it comes to the question of quality, these modular houses can be built in a factory where tolerances can be down to 0.1 of a millimetre.
“You have an extraordinary quality setting, putting them together and then how it looks as a finished product. There's a whole design element for that. And Mirvac, as a business with a deep and rich history in design, has certainly spent a huge amount of time trying to get these designs right."
Beds, sheds and retirement living
When looking at the long-term demographic tailwinds and demand and supply, two key categories stand out to Aware Super’s Senior Portfolio Manager: beds and sheds.“Specifically, we see really great opportunities in seniors housing or retirement living,” says Anjana.
“That's a sector where we currently have quite a bit of exposure, and we continue to have conviction in those demographic tailwinds.
“When we think about developed countries around the world with an aging population in 2026, it’s the year that the oldest baby boomers turn 80. For us, that's a resilient sector that we continue to see opportunity in, and it doesn’t boom and bust; it’s just a steady performer since we first invested in 2017.”
The proof can be found in two platforms Aware Super currently invests in: Keyton Retirement Villages and Oak Tree Retirement Villages.
“We're looking for potential opportunities offshore in that space as well,” Anjana adds.
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