Ravenous build-to-rent developers are swarming Melbourne in a bid to secure sites as the asset class heats up despite prevailing headwinds in costs and construction. 

There is no denying the institutional investor appetite for the burgeoning asset class has hit fever pitch as developers and landowners report build-to-rent developers circling inner-city sites. 

Buxton family-backed Corsair Investment Management executive chairman Michael Fowler confirmed the fund manager had been approached directly by a number of build-to-rent specialists for the 500-apartment build-to-rent portion of a $500-million, mixed-use precinct in the Alphinton Paper Mill precinct.