Harrison Street Real Estate Capital VP Justin Gronlie (shown here in center) is seeing a flight to urban infill and a flight to quality in student housing investment. His firm is working with some of the biggest names in the student housing space focused on keeping student housing close to campus. The result has been very positive; the model is working.

Justin says student housing is a needs-based asset class and benefits from different demand drivers than other types of real estate. Students will always need housing, no matter what else is happening in the broader economy, so in many ways it is better able to weather a downturn. It’s more resilient and versatile.

One pitfall that student housing real estate shares with other types of property is overbuilding. Two years ago, he might have said Tallahassee, FL, and Eugene, OR, were overbuilt, but there doesn’t seem to be an oversupply. One place that isn’t fully absorbed yet is Boise, ID, which saw a number of properties on and off campus in a short period of time.

Meet Justin at Bisnow’s annual Student Housing event on June 14, where he and other industry experts will share their perspectives on what’s hot, what’s new and what’s happening now.