Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
Issue link: https://studenthousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/783396
INVESTMENT SALES UPDATE StudentHousingBusiness.com January/February 2017 43 attracted to buyers with a particular strategy with assets, and a complex understanding of how quickly deals must move in today's heated investment sales climate. "Groups with a specific acquisition criteria, a qualified acquisition team and those who understand the compressed cadence of deals win bids," says Dorothy Jackman, manag- ing director of the student housing group at Colliers Inter- national. "Our industry has become a highly sought after space and there are ample investors and significant equity sources; deals are going through the continuum quickly." "We've found that groups who really put in the upfront due diligence have a great competitive advantage," adds Lang. "We sold multiple assets this year where we had more than 20 competitive offers and the differentiating fac- tor almost always came down to who truly spent the most time to understand the asset and market prior to submitting their offer." In addition to institutional capital and value-add buyers, many brokers also saw increased interest from international investors in recent months. In 2015, international buyers only represented 1 percent of buyer types in U.S. student housing transactions, reports Colliers International. In 2016, international buyers represented 22 percent of buyer types. On the flip side, sellers are placing older properties on the market for various reasons. Fitts at CBRE has a listing owned by TIC with a CMBS loan maturity later in the year. Another portfolio listed by CBRE is from a partnership that is dissolving, so the assets are being placed for sale. American Campus Communities recently acquired #BLVD404, a 163-bed student housing community located near Syracuse University in New York.