Live from BASH!

If you’ve been biting your nails over the state of higher education, stop. American Campus Communities CEO Bill Bayless told a crowd of 400 yesterday afternoon at the Bisnow’s national Annual Student Housing Summit (BASH) in Philadelphia that there’s been a lot of misinformation in the media, but if you drill down, “the fundamentals are fantastic.” (We snapped him, right, with MSC University VP Matthew Stein, who moderated the keynote.) Even though we’re at the end of the Echo Boomer age, there are more 18- to 24-year-olds going to college than ever, he says, leading to stable, growing enrollment, particularly at Tier 1 schools. Even Moody’s says higher ed remains a valuable, long-term investment, which means more opportunity for real estate.

ACC’s formula for success, according to Bill: proximity to campus, a differentiated product, and entering markets with high barriers to entry. (Not to mention school pride: He’s donning a Drexel tie.) Student housing developers continue to make the mistake of overbuilding at a price point, which Bill’s seeing in college towns across the US. Another: not having the right mix of retail at a project, leading to empty space. “Every bad deal takes three good deals to make up for it,” he says. Overall, the 18-to-24 set is innovative, tech-oriented, and on the cutting edge, so they demand good technology and access. “If they can’t use their smartphone in your building, they’ll move elsewhere,” he says. They’re also more health conscious, so kitchens and in-building fitness centers are also attractive.