Institutional investors traditionally shy away from social housing because returns are too low but Labor initiative may change that

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Industry super funds have pledged to invest billions of dollars in social and affordable housing in a proposal that could rejuvenate federal government plans to address a critical shortage exacerbated by cost-of-living pressures.

Critically, the plan prepared by IFM Investors, a major institutional investor owned by a collective of industry super funds, relies on various reforms from state and federal authorities and calls for a doubling of Labor’s $10bn housing investment vehicle.