AUSTIN—ARA Newmark, the multifamily broker network acquired this past December by BGC Partners Inc., has hired Ryan Lang to lead its student housing division. Lang will work closely with Patton Jones, the founding principal of ARA Newmark's student housing group that's based here.

He most recently served as VP and co-leader of CBRE's student housing group. Prior to that, Lang spent three years at New Orleans-based Stirling Properties, where he specialized in the sale of conventional and student housing and was recognized as the company's top investment sales broker in 2011 and 2012.

Lang has closed more than $1.3 billion in real estate transactions across the country in both conventional multifamily and student housing. He has represented institutional investors including Brookfield Asset Management, Heitman and American Campus Communities, the nation's largest developer, owner and manager of student housing.

Jones says Lang has “consistently demonstrated that he can win major disposition assignments and garner the respect from clients who then seek his guidance for future investment opportunities. His specialty in student housing comes at no better time. The sector is gaining momentum as new private, institutional, and foreign investors enter the sector to take advantage of the superior returns in a unique business niche.”

Lang's hiring comes at a time when enrollment in degree-granting US institutions is expected to grow by 13.9% between 2012 and 2022, according to a recent report from the Department of Education. At the same time, sovereign wealth funds are showing interest in funding student housing projects as many public colleges and universities seek out equity partners to solve housing problems rather than take on more debt. Lang's background and experience are seen as complementary to these emerging market needs.