The Living Co has acquired an eight-storey student accommodation building at 15-25 Regent Street in Chippendale for about $72 million, equating to roughly $440,000 per bed and adding 165 beds to its Scape Australia portfolio.

Formerly known as the Boston University Sydney Academic Centre, the property has housed Boston University’s Study Abroad Program since 2011 and offers amenities including a rooftop terrace, communal kitchen, library, lecture theatres, laundry, management accommodation, and secure bike parking.

The purchase of BUSAC for $72.5 million supports a refurbishment and repositioning into Scape-branded student accommodation aimed at a broader market.

Industry data underscore a shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in Sydney and nationwide, with unmet demand estimated at about 25,000 beds in central and Inner West Sydney and around 185,000 beds nationally, driving investor interest in PBSA assets.

The deal was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Business Briefing newsletter, which highlights commercial real estate transactions and sector moves.

In Melbourne, McGrath Estate Agents has partnered with Hodges Real Estate to form Hodges McGrath, expanding operations across Bayside Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, with Hodges dating back to 1854 as Victoria’s oldest agency.

Kandos Post Office in Kandos, NSW, is being sold for about $550,000, coinciding with its 100th anniversary, and includes the post office business and a 675-square-metre corner site.

TJAC, a US-based investor, owned the property since 2009, with Knight Frank agents Tim Holtsbaum and Luke Shackleton negotiating the sale.

StoreLocal expanded in western Sydney with two new facilities at Jamisontown and Arndell Park, totaling $57 million and increasing its national footprint to 43 outlets.

The Living Co’s strategy centers on consolidating PBSA assets in high-demand urban campuses, leveraging a portfolio that includes Aveo and RTL Co, and overseeing about 30,000 beds with roughly $17 billion in assets under management.

The off-market deal with TJAC was negotiated by Knight Frank at a price of roughly $440,000 per bed, underscoring strong demand for PBSA in Sydney’s education precincts.

True Alliance is selling a $100 million industrial site at 19 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria, a 13,140-square-metre freehold with redevelopment potential for data centre, self-storage, office, strata, or hotel uses.