Lynn Peisner
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The fifth annual InterFace Student Housing Conference is underway in Austin, with a gathering of more than 900 developers, investors, managers and numerous others associated with this popular sector of commercial real estate.
The conference began Wednesday with a golf outing that went off in spite of rain. Wednesday’s events included several informal roundtable discussions about leasing, tax assessment, architecture and other topics and a lively cocktail reception in the exhibit hall.
Thursday's full schedule of panels and events began with CEOs from student housing's three public REITs weighing in on trends and the industry's momentum after 2012, which was a stellar year of positive activity and large portfolio acquisitions.
CEOs, from left, Bill Bayless of ACC, Ted Rollins of Campus Crest and Randy Churchey of EdR sit on the first general session panel at InterFace Student Housing. Peter Katz, senior vice president of investments for Institutional Property Advisors, moderated the panel.
The CEOs discussed potential roadblocks ahead that include rising construction costs, over-supply, and a too-heavy focus on courting students with high-income guarantors. Additionally, online degrees have many wondering how those “virtual” students might affect the rising enrollment trends everyone associates with purpose-built student housing's success.
Other sessions covered leasing topics, connectivity and bandwidth, and the investment market. Thursday’s afternoon sessions explored the challenge of sourcing the best executives, what's happening with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and an inside look at how development deals get done successfully in today's market.
Follow scenes, reflections and insights heard around our conference on Twitter with the hashtag #shb13.