US giant Greystar has added 4084 purpose-built student accommodation beds into its new Accolade platform, after acquiring the $1.6-billion GIC portfolio in late 2024.
The final GIC asset in Brisbane, currently managed by UniLodge, is expected to be incorporated into Accolade in 2026. That will take the platform to 5662 beds across seven sites, including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, as Greystar continues to grow its assets in Australia.
Greystar managing director Bernadette Chai said that the real estate manager was “aggressively pursuing” a larger share of the Australian student market. A goal has been set to double beds under management to 10,000 in two years.
“This is the start of our journey to be one of the biggest and best student accommodation providers in the country,” Chai said.
Acquisitions, developments and third-party management may all contribute to reaching that target, which would take the Australian assets to about 10 per cent of Greystar’s 100,000-strong global PBSA bed portfolio.
In August, the Commonwealth Government announced that international student intake would increase by 25,000 in 2026, to 295,000 (while still 8 per cent below the post-Covid peak).
Public universities will be able to apply to increase their individual caps by demonstrating provision of PBSA (as well as increased engagement with the South-East Asian markets). Current PBSA penetration is only at 6 per cent, with 94 per cent of students finding accommodation in other forms of housing.
Legislation is under development to transfer oversight of student numbers to the Australian Tertiary Education Commission from 2027, although the government will continue to manage vocational education and training visas.
“The Australian Government’s decision to welcome 25,000 more international students next year is an acknowledgement of their vital contribution to the Australian economy and society generally,” Chai said.
The US property giant has been making big splashes across Australian markets and sectors in recent years. Also in late 2024, Greystar opened what was, at the time, Australia’s largest build-to-rent asset.
The Gladstone, a $500-million, 700-home three-tower complex in South Melbourne, was the company's first Australian completion.
Its third, the two-tower Haiku Yarra, began full operations in August 2025.
The mega-developer also went on a post-Covid industrial-site buying spree, snatching up a pipeline worth more than half-a-billion dollars by the end of 2022.
Globally, Greystar manages more than $476.59 billion in property assets, including more than a million apartments and beds.
About 70 staff have joined Greystar as part of the takeover and Greystar plans to double headcount to support the Accolade platform.
