Arcapita Group Holdings, a global alternative investments firm, has informed about its ownership of pf Clemson Lofts, a student housing property at Clemson University in South Carolina, US.
It is a 640-bed student housing property situated nearly one mile away from Clemson University, the second biggest university in South Carolina and one of the best 30 public universities in the US.
Showing its attractive location and affordable rents, the property continued an average occupancy rate of 99% by the last five years and is recently 100% in use.
Arcapita finished a similar occupancy in January 2020 when it obtained Quarry Trail, a balanced 840-bed student housing portfolio providing the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the biggest university in the state of Tennessee and a member of the Power Five sports conference.
The possession represents the latest addition to Arcapita’s growing student housing portfolio backing its possession of Quarry Trail, s student housing property at The University of Tennessee earlier the previous year, provided by the company in a statement.
These possessions represent a mutual deal valuing approximately $120 million and bring nearly 1,500 student housing beds under Arcapita’s ownership, it added.
Managing Director Brian Hebb said: “These acquisitions mark our foray into US student housing – a rental housing subsector with great potential. We target assets that serve large public universities with an undergraduate enrollment of over 10,000 students and are located approximately 1-3 miles away from campus.”
“Such properties are generally priced at the middle range of the market and have demonstrated a level of acceptance among the student body due to their value-for-money proposition. The demand for purpose-built student housing has grown over the past few years due to the provision of amenities that are valued by students such as direct shuttles to campus, group study facilities, and activity centers,” explained Hebb.
“Purpose-built student housing currently represents less than 25% of the overall student housing market and we expect this ratio to increase over time to cater to evolving student preferences,” he added.
In accord to Hebb, Arcapita believes the Us student housing market for well-suited properties that provide large public universities is assured to briefly rise due to their more sustainable tuition levels, static enrollment, and generally, a restricted supply of unprogressive land in close accessibility to campus.
Also, the tailored student housing properties serving tier 1 public universities have also illustrated flexibility during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chief Investment Officer Martin Tan said: “Our investments in student housing are a further extension of our focus on defensive sectors that are supported by long-term trends. With over 20 million university students and less than one million purpose-built student housing beds, the US student housing industry is in its early stages of the supply and has the potential for considerable growth.”
“We look forward to working closely with our operating partners to build a sizable and diversified student housing portfolio across the US,” he added.
