student housing construction market may be reaching its peak, says report

Increasing on an annual basis for the better part of a decade, new student housing projects may be less numerous in the years to come, suggests the news site Education Dive.

First picking up steam during the Great Recession, which saw a historic increase in students attending the nation’s colleges and universities, student housing projects in what the publication calls the “amenity rich” category, have seen unabated growth since then.

As the emphasis on more swimming pools, fitness rooms, business centers, dog parks, and community spaces has continued to define new student housing projects, so has the expense of building them.

A report issued earlier this year by the New York-based Real Capital Analytics, says the price of building new student housing in recent years has increased from $50,000 per bed to more than $90,000 today.

The Education Dive report says there has been an increase in deficits on mortgage-backed securities related to student housing projects, while also noting the “converging trends of increased supply and declining enrollments at institutions across the country.”

But according to the site Statista, the immediate outlook for student housing projects is strong, with the total bed count this year at 2.7 million, and expected to increase to 2.8 million in 2020.

By Garry Boulard

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