Oversupply? Not So, Say Panelists

LAS VEGAS—“Some of the millions of students heading back to college—and their parents—are finding a pleasant surprise: Landlords nationwide are cutting rents because of an oversupply of student housing in college towns.” That was the intro paragraph in a Wall Street Journal published less than a year ago—an article that got panelists at RealShare Student Housing’s Town Hall Power Panel talking. According to panelists, that perspective couldn’t be more incorrect and doesn’t have factual evidence to back it up.

Donna Preiss, founder and CEO of the Preiss Co., pointed out that the pool of folks that you have that are going to be collage age is increasing. “So you have a larger pool, an increase in international students…and last year alone, there was a 26% increase in Chinese students coming in as freshman.”