Lines Blur Between Multifamily And Student Housing, But They're Still Different Beasts

Lines continue to blur between traditional multifamily and student housing. Dement Designs' Sara Dement (second from the right) has been designing student housing for nearly a decade and says the old trends of bright, somewhat childish, color schemes and defined study and recreation spaces have been pushed out by modern styles, cool tones and flexible spaces. Sound familiar to multifamily? 

Design lines might be blurring, but fundamental differences still demand attention. Axiometrics student housing analytics lead Taylor Gunn says, despite what you may be reading, student loan debt hasn't negatively affected student housing (at least not in four-year degree-granting universities) and fundamentals remain strong. Student housing is somewhat recession-proof since parents prepare for college costs. The enrollment rate, not employment growth, is the main driver, and Texas college enrollment rates continue to grow steadily. 

Taylor says the expression "build for the masses, not for the classes" defines the strategy for many developers as they prioritize necessities that please parents (the ones footing the bill), rather than luxuries that please students. 

Overbuilding has become a concern in some smaller college markets, Greystar executive director Stacy Hunt said at our Multifamily Annual Conference in Dallas last week. But Texas remains insulated from overbuilding as college towns likes Austin, Lubbock and College Station maintain steady enrollment growth.

We snapped Taylor, Axiometrics' Stephanie McCleskey, Sara and Stacy at our BMAC event last Thursday.