Preferred Apartment Communities sells $478m student-housing portfolio

Preferred Apartment Communities has entered into an agreement to sell its student-housing portfolio to TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) for $478.7 million.

“This is consistent with our previously stated objectives to exit the student housing space, simplify our focus to our core Sunbelt multifamily business, and improve our balance sheet,” said Joel Murphy, Preferred Apartment Communities’ president and CEO.

The transaction is expected to close in fourth quarter 2020.

“This transaction represents a scaled entry for TPG Real Estate into the U.S. student housing sector and an extension of our student housing initiatives in Europe. We believe the assets in this portfolio will benefit from their adjacency to high-quality academic institutions that are well positioned to weather the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ty Newell, principal at TREP. “In spite of these near-term challenges, these student housing communities are poised to e