GSA Lands $500M for Student Portfolio
Wells Fargo provided the senior loan facility.
Global Student Accommodation has obtained $500 million for the refinancing of a 23-asset student housing portfolio across the U.S. Wells Fargo Bank provided the senior loan facility.
The deal strengthens the company’s long-term growth strategy to expand within the U.S. market and upgrade the properties.
The student communities are spread across 14 states serve Tier One institutions such as Arizona State University, Purdue University, Auburn University and University of Illinois. GSA’s partner Yugo is their property manager.
One of the refinanced communities is Yugo Columbia Lofts in Columbia, S.C. The 170-unit, 330-bed property resulted from the adaptive reuse of a 1945-built warehouse. The four-story building features one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floorplans ranging from 681 to 1,320 square feet.
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Common-area amenities include a community room, business center, swimming pool and laundry facilities. The property also has about 270 car parking spaces.
GSA acquired the asset serving the University of South Carolina at Columbia in April 2021 in a portfolio transaction, according to Yardi Matrix information. University Communities sold the properties.
GSA was the first international student housing specialist to enter the U.S. The firm’s current portfolio comprises 43 properties across 32 cities, housing about 20,000 students each year.
Student housing remains a hotspot, slightly cools
The student housing preleasing for the upcoming academic year reached 73.2 percent last month, according to a recent Yardi Matrix student housing report. This figure was 140 basis point higher year-over-year, but equal to the rate registered in 2023.
However, year-over-year rent growth fell to 2 percent, down from 2.6 percent in March. This figure was also below the 6.4 percent average recorded during the previous two leasing cycles, showing signs of cooling demand.
