国际英语新闻：Japan's largest home builder pushes into Australia's property market

SYDNEY, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan's largest home builder, Sekisui House, is digging deeper into Australia's property market, partnering with the Australian property giant, Lend Lease, to develop several master planned community and apartment projects.

In a deal announced on Friday, Sekisui House Australia Holdings Ltd will purchase a 50 percent interest in Lend Lease's 144- apartment development, Serrata, at Victoria Harbor in Melbourne, the second most populous city in Australia.

On the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, the state in eastern Australia, Sekisui will build up to 450 homes on land purchased at Lend Lease's Hyatt Coolum project.

Sekisui will also purchase a half share in the adjoining Hyatt Coolum resort from Lend Lease.

Lend Lease will provide development, project management and construction services to both projects.

Lend Lease, the largest master planned community developer in Australia, said it would explore a further potential alliance with the Japanese builder.

The company says Sekisui is well known for its low-cost and sustainable housing solutions, which makes it a good match with Lend Lease.

Lend Lease is in talks to provide development management services to Sekisui's Wentworth Point apartment project, near Homebush in western Sydney, and to jointly develop 1,200 apartments on the site.

"Lend Lease and Sekisui House will work together to identify further opportunities for Sekisui House to develop homes on Delfin Lend Lease community projects and to identify other joint residential development opportunities," the company said in a statement.

Lend Lease will also look at participating in two Sekisui residential land projects in western Sydney and southeast Queensland.