Mitch Kiffe with Freddie Mac says this 10-year loan was aperfect fit for the lender's Student Housing program. "It's adifferent segment of the market, purpose-built student housing,apartment communities located typically on or near campus that areprofessionally owned and operated by a company that has a lot ofexperience. Lindsey has this experience of building and owningcommunities near major universities, mainly in the middle part ofthe country," Kiffe tells GlobeSt.com.

"For these deals, we take a close look at the university, theenrollment patterns and housing policy, whether the collegerequires students to live on or off campus, and the dormitorysupply. We also want the properties we finance to be close to theuniversity, and have good layouts and amenities, such as thetechnology connections, that parents will pay for, for theirchildren," he says. The buildings have one- and two-bedroom floorplans, with furnished apartments available, and many amenities of aluxury multifamily facility. The units rent ranges from $535 to$795 per month.

He says Freddie Mac is still having a strong year buyingmortgages, though the economy has had a big impact on business."The apartment market is holding up reasonably well," Kiffe says."We are seeing some trends that concern us, such as job losses thatare putting pressure on occupancies and rents. We're forecasting,for the next 18 months, that most markets will have decliningoccupancies and flat to declining rents."