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A bankable asset: As lenders are showing, student housing remains a strong bet for uncertain times
- February 1, 2023: Vol. 17, Number 2

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A bankable asset: As lenders are showing, student housing remains a strong bet for uncertain times

by John Jacobs

Despite the current challenges facing real estate, not all segments of the market are identical. As the  economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine are felt globally, driving inflation to 40-year highs, and interest rates to levels not seen since 2008, student housing continues to perform strongly.

With a robust investment thesis underpinned by positive supply and demand fundamentals, this resilient asset class delivers solid rental income and remains attractive to lenders looking for stability.

Student accommodation is largely uncorre­lated to traditional financial markets, built on the solid foundation of global higher education, which has historically performed well through economic cycles. We saw this following the financial crises of 1987 and 1992, as well as the global financial crisis of 2008, where enrollment at US universities increased by 15 percent between 2007 and 2010. During the COVID-19 crisis, there was also an 8 percent year

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