Because the United States is producing an increasing number of high school graduates who go on to attend college, student housing apparently is recession-proof real estate. This is the finding of a recently released report from the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) that studied the recession’s impact on college enrollment and on-campus dormitory vacancy rates.
According to Jim Arbury, NMHC’s senior vice president, the study – entitled “Special Student Housing Report: Has the Recession Had an Impact?” – examined freshman application data for 63 universities and compares 2009 levels to 2008, as well as to statistics from 2003.
“This report offers valuable benchmarks on the toll the economy is taking on universities, and, by extension, current demand for student housing,” Arbury said. “And it provides vital enrollment data a full six weeks or more before the universities release their numbers. Our research indicates that applications and enrollments are up at most universities. The only places we generally find declining or flat enrollments are in states where the higher education budget has been dramatically reduced or where the university itself is geographically constrained from any further growth.”
because people know they need education and training to compete effectively in a fast-shrinking job pool. At a time when universities have seen their endowments and investment revenues decrease because of the state of the equity markets, private-sector developers have recognized this need and are taking the opportunity to diversify their portfolios by developing institutional-grade student residences in prime locations.