Catella Residential Investment Management has acquired two student residences in Berlin and greater Paris for around €65 mln.
In Berlin, the firm paid €40 mln for a planned five-storey student residence comprising 261 modern fully furnished units across a total surface area of 6,300 m2. The identity of the vendor in the transaction was not disclosed.
The French component of the deal comprises a project development that Catella has purchased from Imodev. It features 240 apartments with a rentable area of 5,108 m2, including a common area of 481 m2, for around €25 mln.
Catella made the deal on behalf of its European Student Housing Fund II (CESHF II), bringing its investment volume to almost €150 mln.
Michael Keune, managing director at CRIM, said: 'The market for education and thus also for student housing is in a state of upheaval in the Covid-19 era. Most universities are closed and online seminars currently dominate the curriculum.
'However, the limitations of this way of learning and the absence of a social component have also become clearly visible. We expect there will be a mix of both forms of learning – both virtual and physical – in the future.
'We also think we will see the same trend as when the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and after the onset of the great financial crisis in 2008, with student numbers increasing significantly during and after the Covid-19 crisis and stimulating demand for student housing in a highly under served market.'
