America's Biggest Private-Equity Firms Are Screwing Over College Students

In the decade-plus since the global financial crisis, the student-housing market has transformed from a patchwork of on-campus dorms, small apartments, and shared houses into a huge industry that's coveted by some of Wall Street's biggest investors. Last year, the private-equity behemoth Blackstone paid $12.8 billion to acquire American Campus Communities, the largest developer and manager of student housing in the US. The megadeal added nearly 112,000 beds to Blackstone's portfolio and helped drive a huge year for student-housing acquisitions — investors spent $22.9 billion in the space, more than double the sum in 2021, according to the commercial-real-estate firm CBRE. The eye-popping numbers are part of a longer-term shift toward private college housing.