iBorrow, a nationwide private direct lender for commercial real estate, has provided financing to Hawkwood Ventures LLC, a national commercial real estate investor, for the acquisition of a 140-bed, four-story student housing asset which serves students attending the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.
The $11.2 million financing will fund a series of capital improvements to better position the facility to benefit from record occupancy in the student housing sector, according to Brian Good, CEO of iBorrow.
“This transaction reflects our belief in student housing’s continued normalization to pre-Covid levels and its overall resilience as an investment-worthy asset class,” explains Good, who notes that student housing for the universities tracked by RealPage Analytics were already 86.2 percent preleased for Fall 2022 in June. “Since the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in student housing occupancy as an even deeper value has been placed in on-campus life as an essential part of the college experience.”
According to a 2021 research report from the National Multifamily Housing Council, the concentration of college-age students in Texas and California make these two markets in particular strategic for investors wanting to capitalize on the organic growth in the student housing market, adds Good.
“The borrower is highly entrepreneurial and sees substantial opportunity in providing quality housing to University of Texas students as they take ownership of this asset and look to maximize its value,” continues Good. “Even though there are challenges due to recent interest rate increases, rising rents and solid pre-leasing trends in student housing all indicate strong fundamentals for the investor.”
The student housing asset is located at 900 W. 23rd Street in Austin, Texas.
