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A Niche Moves From Marginal to Mainstream

NEW YORK CITY-What causes a niche market to get the attention of a broad base of investors? For student housing, it was a four-step process that evolved over years, says Vesper Holdings' Doug Kligman.

By John Salustri | Updated on October 08, 2014

NEW YORK CITY—We’ve heard the refrain time and again, niche markets becoming mainstream investment targets—medical office, student housing, even the net lease sector. In fact that very subject is set for in-depth exploration at the upcoming CCIM THRIVE Conference, October 21-22. Taking place at the Westin Bonaventure in L.A., the conference will offer a special panel discussion entitled, “Niche No More,” featuring experts in each of the above-named fields to answer this very question.

For one of those experts, Doug Kligman, chief investment officer for New York City-based Vesper Holdings, the focus is student housing and the process of evolving from niche to mainstream actually took place over years, and in four steps. “In the 1980s, there wasn’t a product type called student housing,” he tells GlobeSt.com. The market was made up of “small apartment complexes and rental houses.”

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