Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles.
Bayless said that the student housing sector is in the early stages of modernization.
“We are still only at 23% modern beds as a percent of enrollment,” he said, noting that some markets are more mature than others.
Bayless also said that American Campus Communities is currently focused on development and will be selling about $250 million of assets by the end of 2019, noting that cap rates are being driven by incoming global institutional capital. Transaction volume is down a bit as investors build their student housing portfolios, he added.
Bayless also discussed American Campus Communities’ collaboration with Disney Internships & Programs. He said that 10,400 residents will live in the REIT’s Disney community, making it one of the largest residential development in American history.
“We’ll be opening up the first phase [for] 800 Disney interns, along with the Disney Education Center, and all of the community infrastructure in May of 2020,” Bayless said.