HOUSTON-Brian Dinerstein is a principal at the Dinerstein Cos. and is responsible for generating all new commercial real estate business in the company's student housing and conventional apartment divisions. He came to the firm with experience working in business development at Internet Capital Group and in the real estate division of Wells Fargo Bank. The Dinerstein Cos. currently has $1.2 billion of assets under development, predominantly in Central Florida, Southern California and Texas. Sterling University Housing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dinerstein Cos., has developed 26,000 student beds in 26 states, with another 4,200 beds underway.

In a recent discussion with Real Estate Forum, Dinerstein says it's difficult to make blanket statements about the entire student housing market because geographic regions differ. "There are great markets," he says, "others are challenged. You have to look at the states' fiscal positions, the schools' fiscal positions and supply and demand."

Dinerstein went on to say that the student-housing sector has matured, which is good news on the one hand – it means more players and capital. There is a downside, however. "You have to worry about overbuilding in some markets," he points out. "It's terrific for a lot of groups, but some developers, equity guys and operators could come into this business and stub their toes."