Residential real estate leader will serve on town hall panel to address current economic forecast on student housing industry
RALEIGH, NC – April 13, 2010 – Donna Preiss, Founder and CEO of The Preiss Company (TPCO), will serve on the Town Hall panel at the 3rd Annual RealShare Student Housing Conference on April 15-16 at The Four Seasons at Las Colinas in Irving, TX. Last year’s event drew more than 500 owners, investors, developers, financiers, architects, and collegiate housing officials for discussion, debate, and networking.
Preiss will join four other industry professionals and will focus on the how’s and why’s around student housing investor interest and development. The panel will also explore why 2010 remains mostly optimistic, how the economy will impact student attendance and enrollment in colleges and universities and how this will impact the Student Housing industry, whether the recession is finally waning, and what has the response been of the debt and equity market for student housing, especially following the financial market volatility in 2009.
TPCO is in its 23rd year and employs over 200 team members. The company specializes in the development, acquisition, and management of student housing and is largest provider of off-campus student housing at North Carolina State University, Clemson University, Auburn University in Alabama, Coastal Carolina University and Winthrop University in SC, and the University of Texas in Austin and the second largest provider at UNC Charlotte. 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 acquired its first student housing property in Georgia—University Village at Southern. The 532-bed apartment property is located ½ mile from Georgia Southern University. TPCO is planning $1 million in capital expenditures to enhance the property built in the early 90’s.
Preiss adds that student housing opportunities lie in operations and that the industry is a specialty niche that requires an experienced and specialized workforce. She says that investors or banks dealing with student housing should ensure that their management team is experienced and has a clear understanding of the industry.
“The Preiss Company is getting quite a few requests to do student housing property management across the country,” says Preiss. “Our company is working with groups that are developing new apartments, banks who have foreclosed, and investors who realize they cannot sell and must have good annual cash on cash return.”
About The Preiss Company
Founded in 1987, The Preiss Company provides a wide range of services including acquisition, property management, due diligence, construction management, development, and consulting for multi-family real estate investments. TPCO is the leader in the development of new technologies, tools, and strategies for the student housing industry and also acts as a receiver for several national banks. The company has formed over 50 partnerships and developed over 20 projects stretching from Maryland to Texas. In 2009, the company was awarded the Steady Growth and Profitability Master Award by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit www.tpco.com.
