Salta Properties Focuses on Warehousing and Build-to-Rent Amid Market Shift

Salta Properties, the Melbourne-based real estate group owned by the Tarascio family, is placing its focus on logistics and build-to-rent (BTR) developments, while scaling back on build-to-sell projects due to current market challenges. The company, led by Sam Tarascio, is holding off on new for-sale residential developments until conditions improve.

Salta recently completed a pilot BTR project in North Fitzroy and is now preparing to launch a major \$500 million development in Richmond, which will deliver 474 rental apartments. In parallel, the company has commenced the next phase of its industrial estate in Cranbourne West, in Melbourne’s south-east. This site is located near Salta’s planned intermodal freight terminal that will integrate rail and road logistics.

“We see build-to-rent as an important part of the housing solution,” Tarascio told The Australian Financial Review. “It’s still early in its development cycle, but we believe it will expand significantly as more capital enters the sector.” The company has already secured sites capable of supporting up to 2,000 BTR apartments, with an estimated end value of \$1.5 billion.

Previously, Salta has delivered both office buildings and build-to-sell apartments, but Tarascio says such projects are not viable in the current environment. “The gap between the cost of building new stock and the prices people are willing to pay is too wide. Until we see improvements in productivity, cost reductions, or price increases—or ideally, a combination of all three—it’s hard to make build-to-sell work.”

Meanwhile, Salta is marketing 12 industrial lots at its estate along the Western Port Highway, each starting at 6,375 square metres. Once fully developed, this segment of the project could be worth up to \$800 million. The launch follows Salta’s joint venture with ESR and Frasers Property Industrial, who last year acquired around half of the site in a \$200 million deal.

The broader industrial development, known as Industrial Quarter (iQ), aligns with Salta’s investment in its nearby Dandenong South intermodal terminal. This infrastructure project aims to improve freight handling efficiency and strengthen the strategic positioning of the precinct for large-scale industrial users.

“Alongside our intermodal rail terminal, this corridor will become a hub for industrial activity and land value in Melbourne’s south-east,” Tarascio said.

Turning to policy, Tarascio offered a measured view on the Victorian state budget, which highlighted the government’s increasing reliance on property taxes—the highest of any Australian state. He warned that high levels of taxation are already pushing foreign investors away from Victoria’s off-the-plan apartment sector.

“As a sector, we feel that some of the tax measures have gone too far and are becoming detrimental. With the right dialogue between government and industry, we can find a better balance,” he said. “Foreign capital is seeing Victoria as a less attractive investment destination due to these extra costs.”

Tarascio questioned whether the goal of foreign buyer levies is purely revenue generation—revenue that may not materialize if investors pull out—or if there’s a broader strategy to fund infrastructure. “The government needs to consider whether these taxes are helping achieve long-term objectives, or simply discouraging much-needed investment,” he said.