Why student housing is piquing institutional interest – USA
Investors are diversifying their portfolios beyond the familiar urban construction developments that have driven multifamily sale volumes to new heights over the past two years. One perhaps unexpected area of focus has cropped up: student housing.
So just how interested are investors in student housing? Investment volumes in this space in 2016 increased 64.5 percent year-over-over compared to the 4.3 percent increase in the multifamily sector overall. While student housing has seen significant gains, it’s still only a small portion of the multifamily sector. In 2016, student housing accounted for 6.6 percent of total multifamily transaction volumes with a record $9.2 billion in activity.
As investor interest in student housing has increased, institutional capital has played a crucial role. Institutional investors accounted for nearly half of acquisitions in 2016 …