Colleges Chill Out on Real Estate Projects
Bisnow’s Higher Education & Student Housing Summit is just a week away. Come for the free breakfast and stay to learn (sounds just like college) about local university development projects and where the money is coming from.
Higher ed development projects are slowing down because of interest rates, but it’s not what you think. Yes, rates are rising, says our panelist Michael Baird of RBC Capital Markets (snapped with Ballard Spahr’s Teri Guarnaccia, who’ll moderate the Jan. 30 event). But it’s more that Maryland institutions already worked through many of the capital items on their wish lists when interest rates were at their trough, and now many are focusing on managing their debt positions. Michael is working on a refi for Allegheny College, which, he says, may be the last Maryland student housing refi he’ll work on for a while.
Michael also tells us floating-rate loans will come back into fashion as interest rates rise (if this guy can float, so can interest rates). Educational institutions, in particular, may like a new RBC product that allows them to skip the bank (and thus the letter of credit). Instead, it places that loan directly with investors, making it easier for the schools to raise funds. Sign up for our event here!
