For those who attended the NMHC Student Housing Conference in Chicago a couple of weeks back welcome home. At one point I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to Pittsburgh with major delays from the air-traffic control fire – but I made it!
Pursuant to my outreach prior the conference and as the leading executive recruiter in our space, I’m sharing a brief summary of my conversations with your peers while in Chicago. Hopefully, you’ll find these interesting personally or perhaps able to guide any corporate planning efforts heading into 2015.
  • Development Diversification – in 2014 this meant moving from garden-style to podium/wrap or highrise development. In 2015, I am hearing of adding Seniors Housing into companies’ product mix due to inherent demand and commonalities of the marketing/leasing and operations
  • Signs of Long Term Industry Growth – Perhaps more confidently projecting economic growth beyond any pending “economic doom,” companies are still adding to their development teams, both on the sourcing and execution sides
  • Portfolio expansion headaches – as the number of properties in portfolios (owned and fee management) are growing – particularly as smaller companies “nationalize,” – regional operations experts and more experienced/broad-based asset managers are in high demand.
  • Layers of Management – for developers using 3 party management firms, many are hiring internal operations personnel (aka quasi-asset management) to work with their 3 party management firm to ensure success, not only for troubled properties, but ground up development as well
  • Fresh Talent – with the growth in the student housing sector everyone is scrambling for the best talent – what are new pools to pull from? Hospitality? Higher-Ed? More and better training? Stronger internship/recruitment/internal development programs?

If there is something here that strikes a chord and necessitates further conversation let me know, we can talk further.

- Melanie