Core Spaces Makes $300M Student Housing Play After $1.6B Fundraise
Months after its $1.64 billion student housing fund close, Core Spaces is making a big play in the sector. The firm's Core University Living Real Estate Income Trust has acquired a four-property portfolio, which holds more than $300 million in total value, according to a press release.
The portfolio is currently 99 percent occupied, with preleasing expected to be fully reached by the start of the 2026- 27 academic year, according to Core Spaces. The properties host more than 2,000 beds.
It's unclear where the communities are located exactly, but Core Spaces noted they are positioned "adjacent to leading public universities."
The Chicago-based company said that the transaction aligns with its long-term focus on high-quality assets in tier 1 university markets anchored by Power 4 conference colleges.
Plus, after closing its major fundraising in May, Core Spaces touted its platform, which includes a development strategy guided by discipline and one that features top university regions. Its full student housing footprint includes more than 74,440 beds with an additional 53,860 in the pipeline.
"CUL REIT and this transaction reflect Core's strong conviction in the fundamentals of student housing and our commitment to owning high-quality assets over the long term," John Wieker, CEO at Core Spaces, said in a statement.
"We remain focused on continuing to grow our platform by executing differentiated, pure-play stabilized student housing strategies while advancing our development and acquisition pipelines and leveraging the strength of our vertically integrated platform."
National student housing preleasing reached 71.6% in April, according to a recent report from Walker & Dunlop. Of the 178 markets, 113 of them tracked by Yardi Matrix were running ahead of last year's pace. In terms of demand versus deliveries, all regions aside from the West outpaced the supply. The Midwest was the strongest performer, with its 2.56 absorption ratio relative to the amount of completions.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM