Student Housing Remains Solid Investment in Any Cycle
Student housing is one of those assets that continues to shine despite the stage of economic cycle, which held true for a recent refinance loan of Capstone Cottages of Lubbock near Texas Tech University.
LUBBOCK, TX—Student housing is one of those assets that continues to shine despite the stage of economic cycle. That holds true for a recent refinance loan for a property near Texas Tech University.
Berkadia arranged a $48.687 million refinance loan for Capstone Cottages of Lubbock, a 969-bed student housing community with 216 units.
Located in northwest Lubbock, the housing property is located near the city’s downtown core less than five minutes from Texas Tech University, ranked as the most cost-effective university in the Southwest. The community is also less than 10 minutes from key transit routes including US-82 and Texas 289 Loop, offering access to Lubbock and other Texas metropolitan areas.
Freddie Mac originated a seven-year floating rate loan with two years interest only and a 65% loan-to-value ratio. Berkadia’s South Florida capital markets team of senior managing director Charles J. Foschini, senior managing director Mitch Sinberg, managing director Christopher Apone, associate director Matt Robbins, senior analyst Lourdes Carranza-Alvarez and analyst Shannon Wilson arranged the refinancing on behalf of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP and Capstone Collegiate Communities.
“Student housing has proven itself as a valuable alternative investment with solid returns even during a slowing economy or a recession, as that’s when many people either decide to go to college or remain in school longer to wait for the economy to pick back up,” Foschini tells GlobeSt.com. “We can expect to see demand for student housing strengthen moving forward in the current cycle, as undergraduate enrollment is expected to increase by 3% through 2027, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.”
According to a study by Axiometrics, a RealPage company, and the National Multifamily Housing Council/NMHC, private institutions charged per-bed annual rent premiums of 10% over their public counterparts for on-campus floorplans. In the off-campus portion of the dataset, however, private universities were associated with rent discounts of 15% for purpose-built floorplans and 19% for student-competitive floorplans.
“The student housing market exhibits solid advantages with consistent annual demand and returns,” said Foschini. “The opportunities for educated investment within the sector continue to make this asset class increasingly attractive. Freddie Mac also continues to provide great flexibility to those it shares a relationship with. The transaction came with a variety of advanced waivers and approvals including a unique prepay option should the buyer decide to sell the asset in the near term.”
Built in 2017, Capstone Cottages of Lubbock is located at 4702 4th St. One-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom units include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, ranges and washers/dryers. Community amenities include a business center, clubhouse, conference room, grill, picnic area and multi-use room.