【World Property Journal】Half of All U.S. Student Housing Investment Serves "Power Five" Football Schools Alone

According to the latest analysis from CBRE, student housing linked to U.S. universities with elite football programs attract the best pricing and greatest demand from investors, drawn by the large and consistent enrollments, as well as the stable cash flows that these properties offer.
 
College football conferences are strongly correlated with student housing capitalization rates⁠--a valuation measure used in commercial real estate to indicate investor interest (the lower the cap rate, the greater the appeal and value). CBRE analysis finds that student housing at colleges with elite football programs trade at lower cap rates than properties serving colleges with lesser-quality football programs.
 
"Football works as a very effective marketing tool for universities and creates value for student housing properties. The strong football programs in Division I schools, and particularly in the 'Power Five' conferences, create national branding and prestige. In turn, these 'football schools' recruit more students, as evidenced by the spike in applications following the NCAA National Championship game. These characteristics give investors confidence in the sustained superior performance of the student housing assets serving 'football schools'," said Jaclyn Fitts, CBRE's director of National Student Housing.

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