Residential real estate leader will serve on panel to address economic downturn’s impact on college and university housing
RALEIGH, NC – April 14, 2009 – Donna Preiss, Founder and CEO of The Preiss Company (TPCO), will present at the 2nd annual RealShare Student Housing Conference on April 14-15 at The Four Seasons at Las Colinas in Irving, TX. Over 500 attendees, representing 200 firms, are scheduled to attend the event which brings together all of the investors/owners, developers, brokers and financiers who specialize in the student housing market or who have interest in getting involved in this favored sector of real estate.
The informational conference will feature 45 speakers who will address the current state of the student housing industry. Preiss will participate in a panel discussion—moderated by Dorothy Jackman, Associate VP/Investments, Senior Director, National Multi Housing Group, Marcus & Millichap—entitled “Colleges & Universities Tackle Today’s Challenging Economic Cycle”. The panel will discuss the recent capital markets turmoil, the recession and their impact on academic expenditures, and enrollment projections.
Beginning its 22nd year, TPCO has formed over 50 partnerships and developed over 20 projects stretching from Maryland to Texas. The company is currently the 12th largest student-housing provider in the nation and recently entered into the Myrtle Beach market with their purchase of University Village at the Coast, a 436-bed apartment property located three miles of Coastal Carolina University. Preiss says that despite the sluggish housing and real estate market, student housing continues to remain robust and sound.
“No matter how bad the economy is, people seem unwilling to sacrifice education,” says Preiss. “We’ve personally seen this as the demand for student housing continues to remain steady and strong.” As a testament to the strength of the student housing market, TPCO recently hired 29 new employees to their team during the months of January and February and has acquired $356 million in student housing. The company is expecting to add another $30 million by the end of the year.
Additional topics to be discussed by the panel include how will state budget deficits and impending increased costs to higher education impact the student housing market; have college/university endowments been severely impacted by the decline in value of the stock market; has the credit crunch and subsequent credit freeze affected the availability of student loans, and has it contributed to a decline in enrollments on some campuses; have colleges and universities curtailed spending for various projects—including housing—as a result of the recession; which type of school is better positioned to weather today’s economic climate; and will the current economic slowdown impact future student housing projects and joint ventures involving private/public real estate investors and developers. More information about RealShare can be found at www.realshareconferences.com/studenthousing.
About The Preiss Company
Founded in 1987 by Donna Preiss, TPCO employs over 168 team members and provides a wide range of services including acquisition, property management, due diligence, construction management, development, and consulting for multi-family real estate investments. For more information, visit www.tpco.com.
