Blackstone JV Acquires, Recapitalizes $784M Student Housing Portfolio
Brookfield Asset Management is reportedly striking a $1 billion deal with Scion Group.
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and Landmark Properties have teamed up on a $784 million joint venture to recapitalize and acquire eight student housing assets totaling 5,416 beds across the US.
Blackstone already has a presence in this space having acquired a 28,000-bed portfolio in the UK from Goldman Sachs last year for $6 billion as well as an earlier investment with Greystar Real Estate Partners.
Jacob Werner, Blackstone Real Estate Senior Managing Director, said the firm is attracted to student housing’s resilience. “Student housing has a history of being resilient while generating strong cash flows and this transaction is consistent with BREIT’s strategy of acquiring high-quality, income generating properties that have attractive long-term growth potential,” he said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to growing our presence in this asset class and working together on future transactions.”
After the transaction is completed Landmark will have 79 student housing communities.
Blackstone isn’t the only institutional investment broadening its footprint in student housing. In a report relying on unnamed sources, Bloomberg says Brookfield Asset Management is considering making its first foray into the sector in the US after having invested in the UK through its platform Student Roost.
It is in talks with Scion Group LLC to form a joint venture to acquire at least $1 billion in student-housing properties. Bloomberg says the joint venture would acquire purpose-built real estate across the country.
These heavyweights are targeting a market that is poised to remain a steady option for institutional real estate investors, according to a recent report from the National Multifamily Housing Council.
NMHC estimates the student housing market will grow from 8.5 million beds last year to 9.2 million by 2031, accounting for an average annual increase of 0.8% per year, while enrollment in post-secondary schools will increase annually by 1.1% on average.
“Even in the face of a more challenging demographic environment, there will still be pockets of opportunity for the more discerning investor,” the report notes.