Morgan Stanley JV Makes Over $1B Purchase of Student Housing Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Global Student Accommodation's student housing footprint is getting even bigger. The two have now acquired a 6,200-unit portfolio in a deal that exceeds $1 billion. This, according to the acquisition partners, represents one of the largest single transactions in the sector globally so far this year.
Additionally, this will mark the first time that Morgan Stanley Investment and Global Student have tapped the Pennsylvania, Georgia and Virginia markets. It will also expand their operations in Florida, Oregon, Texas and North Carolina. The portfolio serves top schools such as the University of Florida, Texas A&M, Penn State University and the University of Virginia. The eight properties in the deal, sold by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Landmark Properties, are almost at full occupancy.
The off-market deal takes Morgan Stanley Investment and Global's student housing footprint to nearly 24,000 beds across 36 cities and 23 states in the U.S.
Global student housing provider, Yugo, will take the responsibility of managing and rebranding the 6,200-unit portfolio.
“This student housing portfolio fully aligns with our strategy to acquire high-quality, resilient assets in prime locations," Will Milam, head of U.S. investments at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, said in a statement.
"We are pleased to partner with GSA to strengthen our market position to capture the ongoing demand for student housing in some of the country’s top university markets."
Morgan Stanley Investment managed $1.8 trillion in assets, as of September 30. Some other real estate asset classes that the firm has poured capital into include office, retail, industrial, as well as residential sector as a whole.
After a slow start to the year, the student housing market has finally caught fire again nationally. At the end of August, 96.5% of student housing beds across the country were leased for the fall semester — marking the strongest performance in at least a decade, according to a report from RealPage.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM