Conference Coverage

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The 8th annual InterFace Student Housing Conference concluded Friday after two-and-a-half great days of networking and educational sessions from leaders across all facets of the industry. The conference began Wednesday, April 13, with the SHB Open Golf Outing at Barton Creek Resort & Spa and then moved to the sixth floor of the Hilton Austin, where a record-breaking number of attendees — 1,200 — networked, discussed and dined over a range of industry topics. Speed Networking kicked off the afternoon, where over 100 industry experts participated in short, one-minute conversations designed to spur discussion and foster budding new relationships. The group then moved into over 25 “InterFace+info” roundtables to discuss a range of industry-relevant topics, from “Who’s Buying? Who’s Selling? An Investment Market Update” to “How to Win a Woman’s Lease” and “Wi-Fi & Bulk — The New World of Individual Bandwidth.” A cocktail reception followed the late afternoon roundtables, where attendees were able to continue to build new relationships and explore a variety of booths from exhibitors. A Record Breaking Year After a networking breakfast and workshop, the conference’s panel sessions picked up Thursday morning with a consortium of CEOs from the industry’s top companies in a “Power Panel.” Moderator …

LOS ANGELES — Investors of all types are clamoring to cash in on the Baby Boom generation, as this aging population readies to kick off a 20-year need for care and seniors services. That’s according to panelists at InterFace Conference Group’s Seniors Housing West conference, held March 3 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. Those looking for a long-term investment are betting heavily on the Boomer population, which is 76.5 million strong, with the oldest being 69 and the youngest turning 50 this year. “The first Boomers are only turning 70 this year,” said keynote speaker Lynne Katzmann, president and founder of Juniper Communities. “They have a decade to go before they need services, but they are today’s primary buyer.” Much of this demographic will have a strong understanding of seniors housing options by the time they need the services themselves, Katzmann asserted, because they will have been down that road before with their aging parents. With this in mind, Katzmann believes it’s incumbent upon the current developers and operators to not just offer the best in senior care, but to invest in their facilities and in client (aging parents and their children) education as well. “We must take action …

LOS ANGELES — The net lease market has, by and large, enjoyed a steady run post-recession. But many investors are entering 2016 with a sentiment that an uncertain future may lie ahead, according to panelists at InterFace Conference Group’s Net Lease West conference, held March 1 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. This sobering reality was inspired by a few factors, including a likely hike in interest rates, a bulk of CMBS loans coming due, a discrepancy in pricing between buyers and sellers, rising cap rates, the possible dissolution of 1031 exchange transactions and a bull market that has lasted longer than average.   CMBS Wall Creates Opportunities for Buyers Gordon Whiting, managing director at Angelo, Gordon & Co. and a “State of the Industry and 2016 Outlook” panelist, believes now is a good time for buyers to begin infiltrating the market due to the girth of CMBS loans coming due. More than $300 billion is set to mature between 2015 and 2017, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rather than refinancing, panelists noted some borrowers were choosing to sell ahead of maturity. “I have clients who have chosen to put their properties on the market because the debt is …

LOS ANGELES — Healthcare providers are taking cues from the retail and hospitality industries and keeping an open mind. That’s according to panelists at InterFace Conference Group’s Healthcare Real Estate West conference, held March 2 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. The biggest lessons the healthcare industry has internalized, panelists noted, was making the customer king, remaining flexible and embracing technology — even if the future of that technology is uncertain. “The buzzword today is omnichannel,” said Andy Hoover, real estate manager for the California region of Providence Health and Services and a participant in the “Impact of Consolidation and Changing Healthcare Delivery” panel. “It’s more like retail today. It’s a customer-focused delivery model — essentially a retail delivery model. It’s a blend of physical and digital components. It’s really not what you put into it. It’s what the customer gets out of it and what they’ll pay for.” The healthcare system of the future is looking to integrate mobile apps that allow customers to refill prescriptions, make appointments, view test results and potentially even hold virtual visits with their physicians. Healthcare systems are also moving away from hospitals and campuses with long-held, negative stigmas surrounding them. “The medical office …

Even though the current U.S. economic expansion has lasted 20 months longer than the post-World War II average of 58 months between recessions, Kennesaw State University economics professor Roger Tutterow does not expect a recession in 2016. Tutterow outlined the reasons he expects economic growth to continue for at least the next 12 months during a speech at the InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 3. “When we think about the economy, from 2007 to 2013 we went through a credit crunch and a correction in housing and commercial real estate almost without precedent in my professional life,” Tutterow said. “We stand here today, and as hard as it is to believe, we are now halfway through the seventh year of this economic recovery. By the book, the recession of 2008-09 ended in June of 2009.” The current economic expansion has lasted 78 months, but it has been the weakest recovery since World War II, according to the Wall Street Journal, which points out that while there have been highs and lows in individual quarters, overall the economy has failed to break out of its roughly 2 percent growth pattern for more than …