Blackstone, the brawniest owner of commercial real estate in the world, is placing its bets on the student housing rental market as demand gushes worldwide.
“Student housing is, I think where the opportunity is most specifically generating a lot of strong cash for us and our investors,” as universities hunt for more accommodations to satisfy growing student bodies and heightened demand, said Kathleen McCarthy, Blackstone’s universal co-head of real estate, speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference Thursday.
She highlighted last year’s possessions of student housing provider American Campus Communities as one way Blackstone can work with universities to increase supply mid shortages. The company, she added, also focuses on rental housing because it shows a “great deal of resiliency.”
Abide year, the company made a sizable bet on the real estate industry, raising a little more than $30 billion for its Blackstone Earnest Estate Partners X fund, which McCarthy highlighted as another way the company is using its insights to provide consistent exhibit for investors and confidence amid a market with heightened “dislocation.”
But student housing issues aren’t solely a U.S. pretty pickle, and Blackstone has made investments in Australia, Canada and the U.K. as students seek English-language degrees, McCarthy said.
“Those boondocks are really looking at education as somewhat of an export, and, where the U.S. has had more challenging visa policies, those countries procure been able to capitalize on that, and are seeking to grow their universities but they need housing to do that,” she thought.
Along with student housing, McCarthy also highlighted datacenters and logistics as other key conviction real social status areas as artificial intelligence booms and consumers do more online shopping.
Don’t miss the biggest investment ideas in the obligation. Learn more about CNBC’s Delivering Alpha investor summit here.