Increase in the number of properties managed by HomeGround Real Estate
This measure tracks growth in the number of affordable rental properties managed by our social enterprise real estate agency, HomeGround Real Estate. Expanding this portfolio increases access to secure housing for people on low incomes and reflects an innovative approach to growing affordable housing options while supporting the long-term sustainability of our work.
Summary
HomeGround Real Estate managed 340 properties in FY24/25, a 9% increase on last year. Half of all properties were offered at below-market rent, expanding safe, affordable options for low-income renters.
Over the last 12 months, we continued to expand affordable housing access through our social enterprise, HomeGround Real Estate
Our award-winning social enterprise, HomeGround Real Estate, continues to expand affordable housing access for Victorians.
Our social enterprise is delivering strong outcomes for renters, maintaining high owner satisfaction and is designed to reinvest surpluses into Launch Housing’s mission.
Over the past 12 months, we managed 340 properties, up 9% from last year (312 properties). This growth is illustrated in Figure 1, below. We sustained 78 tenancies in the past year, with 92% of renters reporting improved housing stability. We are also engaging property owners, with 89% recommending the program. When it comes to working with property owners, we emphasise values-based partnering — framing property owners as collaborators in community impact and our collective mission to end homelessness in Melbourne.
This year, the HomeGround Real Estate team won the Real Estate Agency of the Year 2025 award at the East Melbourne Local Business Awards. The win reflects HomeGround Real Estate as a leading provider of ethical, community-focused property management that can deliver outcomes for both property owners and tenants.
Over the last five years, we have seen an increase in families pushed into housing security by rising rents, stagnant wages, and cost of living pressures
We are seeing a significant shift in homelessness: it is no longer just visible rough sleeping.
One of the biggest shifts we have seen over the last five years is that more families, many who’ve never experienced housing insecurity before, are being pushed into precarious situations due to rising rents, stagnant wages, and the cost-of-living squeeze.
In Victoria, rental affordability has slightly improved over the past year for households earning the minimum wage, with around one in four listings deemed affordable. However, the situation has deteriorated for families on income support, with just 127 of 16,219 properties, or 0.8 per cent, considered suitable. 1
Programs like our social enterprise, HomeGround Real Estate, show how much innovative models can buffer this pressure. With approximately 50% of properties offered at below-market rent, HomeGround Real Estate is helping Victorians with the supply of affordable housing. Revenue from HomeGround Real Estate is designed to be reinvested directly back into our homelessness services and programs.
Over the last five years, we have seen year-on-year growth, driven by increased awareness of HomeGround Real Estate’s model and strong demand for ethical property management. This collective impact model demonstrates how property-owner partnerships can add to supply of affordable housing.
Our impact
Footnotes
- Anglicare Victoria. Victorian Rental Affordability Snapshot 2025. Anglicare Victoria, accessed 13 October 2025.
- Anglicare Victoria. (2025). Victorian Rental Affordability Snapshot 2025.
- Council to Homeless Persons. (2025). Social housing waitlist increases again, now topping 65,000.
- Council to Homeless Persons. (2025). Victoria’s last-place ranking on social housing demands answers.
- Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH). (2024). Annual Report 2023–24. Victorian Government.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2024). Specialist Homelessness Services Collection data cubes.
- Anglicare Australia (2025). Rental Affordability Snapshot: National Report.
- Anglicare Victoria (2025). Victorian Rental Affordability Snapshot 2025.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024). Specialist Homelessness Services Annual Report 2023–24: Clients with a Current Mental Health Issue.
- Murray, S., Theobald, J., Haylett, F. & Watson, J. (2020). Not Pregnant Enough? Pregnancy and Homelessness. Melbourne: RMIT University
- Watson, J., Theobald, J., Haylett, F., Hooker, L., & Murray, S. (2024). You’re in the Right Spot: Responding to Pregnancy and Homelessness – Evaluation of the Cornelia Program: Final Report. Melbourne: Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT University; La Trobe University; Royal Women’s Hospital; Launch Housing; Housing First.
