CHICAGO—CA Student Living, the student housing investment and development division of Chicago-based CA Ventures, just completed eight luxury student housing communities comprising nearly 4,000 beds across the US. Students have already occupied 95% of these beds, which represent nearly 10% of the 47,700 off-campus student housing beds slated for delivery nationwide in 2016. Although that total may sound like a big number, company officials tell GlobeSt.com that a gap has opened up between the intense demand for new student housing, and what developers have recently finished.
“In general, enrollment at most schools is increasing, but the supply is not keeping up,” says JJ Smith, chief operating officer, CA Ventures. In 2014, the student housing market hit a peak when developers delivered about 65,000 new units, according to data from Axiometrics, Inc. And next fall, Smith predicts builders will deliver slightly more than 40,000 units.
“New supply is tapering off,” but that can mean goods things for the builders and investors still at work in the sector. “We still find a lot of opportunities across the country, especially at large state schools.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
