A US-headquartered property investor has acquired the largest purpose-built student accommodation development in the Republic for around €150 million, marking the biggest residential property deal of the year.
Greystar, the South Carolina-anchored property investment company, has agreed to buy the Michael O’Flynn-developed Point Campus scheme in Dublin’s docklands from German asset manager DWS.
The deal marks Greystar’s first foray into the student housing market in the Republic and the €150 million price tag makes it the largest single residential property deal in the Republic in 2024. The second biggest was DWS’s €97.5 million deal for the 207-unit Hayfield apartment project in Killiney.
In a statement on Friday, Greystar said the fully occupied 966-bed Point Campus development will be operated by its student housing platform Canvas, which currently operates beds in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain.
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Claire Solon, managing director of Greystar Ireland, said the group is “excited to enter the student accommodation market” in the Republic.
“We believe the business is well positioned to benefit from strong ongoing demand from Irish and international students, given the undersupply of high quality and professionally-managed accommodation.”
Originally developed by Mr O’Flynn and global fund giant BlackRock in 2016, Point Campus was acquired by Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS in 2020, reportedly for some €172 million.
In addition to the bed spaces, the building includes a cinema, a gym, a common room and a roof terrace and is adjacent to the Point Square shopping centre and the 3Arena in the north docklands.
Greystar has been involved in several high-profile property deals, including its 2022 acquisition of Dalguise House in Monkstown, South Dublin for around €30 million.
The firm subsequently applied for permission to build 488 apartments on the site. An Bord Pleanála approved a scaled-down scheme in February, ordering the removal of 101 units from the plan.
Market dynamics in the Republic remain extremely favourable for purpose-built student accommodation investors, with Dublin alone experiencing an acute shortfall of between 25,000 and 65,000-bed spaces relative to demand, according to estimates.
However, the industry voiced its concern earlier this year after the Government legislated over the summer to effectively ban the practice of large-scale student landlords offering 51-week-only leases at their properties.
The new law, which means student housing operators must also offer standard 41-week leases to students, more in line with the typical academic year, followed a decision by some large-scale operators to switch to a 51-week-only lease model.
The change by operators was criticised by the then-minister for higher education Simon Harris and Sinn Féin’s higher education spokeswoman Mairéad Farrell as well as student unions and the representative body for Ireland’s university sector. An amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act, effectively banning companies from offering only lengthier leases, was passed by the Dáil in July, prompting threats of legal action from some companies.
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