Business
Student housing CEO says luxury is losing its appeal
Annex, a Scion community in Oxford, Ohio, that serves students of Miami University.
Courtesy of Scion
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Consumers are increasingly concerned about the state of the economy, and that is affecting yet another real estate sector — student housing.
Rent growth in the sector slowed to just 0.9% in July across 200 colleges surveyed by Yardi. The average advertised asking rent fell to $905 per bed, a 1.4% decrease from the $918 peak in March “as operators struggle to lease remaining inventory,” according to the Yardi report.
For perspective, from October through July, rent growth averaged 2.8%, less than half the 5.7% recorded during the same period a year earlier and well below the 6.9% seen a year before that.
“What we’re seeing is fall-off at the top and the bottom,” said Robert Bronstein, founder and CEO of Scion, one of the country’s largest owners and operators of student housing.
Scion owns roughly 95,000 beds across 83 schools in 35 states, with over $10 billion in assets under management.
Bronstein said the lower end of the market, that is, students and parents who were struggling most to afford student housing, is now going back to the more historic, cheaper rental homes on the outskirts of campuses. Higher-end students and parents are also changing course.
“I think that people are saying, ‘You know what, there’s a building that’s three years old, and it costs 30% less than a brand new building, and I wasn’t going to use the hot tub on the roof anyhow. I’m going to go with the less expensive option,'” said Bronstein.
Students, he said, are increasingly serious about their living spaces and prefer co-working spaces and remote interview rooms over golf simulators and movie theaters, which were all the rage a decade ago. High-end amenities, he said, no longer drive occupancy. Cost savings are now paramount.
Scion plays in the middle market, acquiring properties mostly at large schools, including the University of Florida, University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, and University of Mississippi, as well as Texas A&M and Clemson University.
“We were very active last year. We’re very active this year. This may turn out to be the most active year,” said Bronstein.
He said that after Covid, there’s been a shift in investment toward large, flagship public universities — and it’s accelerating.
“The top-tier, 40, 50, 60,000-student flagship public schools, they’re posting year after year after year of record enrollment growth. They’re not even coming close to being able to satisfy the housing needs that exist in these markets,” said Bronstein, adding that they are also taking market share from smaller public universities and private schools.
“I don’t think you can be bullish enough about Madison, Wisconsin, or in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or in Athens, Georgia, or Gainesville, Florida,” he said.
Going big, he said, also gives Scion an acquisition advantage in today’s high-interest-rate environment.
“We’re looking at it like, OK, this is a market we want to be in. We’re not going to be in it with 300 beds. We’re going to be in it with three or four assets and several thousand beds and have real operating leverage,” said Bronstein.
Bronstein said he’s bullish because there’s been a drop-off in new development due to higher costs for construction and capital. That will increase the value of Scion’s existing assets.
In its 2025 student housing outlook report, commercial real estate lender Walker and Dunlop predicted a “dynamic” year for the sector.
“After a period of slowed transaction volume due to macroeconomic headwinds, the market is rebounding as interest rates stabilize, institutional capital builds conviction, and enrollment at major universities continues to rise,” according to the report.
It noted that the Southeastern Conference remains the most active conference for student housing investment, with the Big Ten conference gaining momentum as larger schools see record enrollment growth.
It also highlighted the same shift away from higher-cost buildings stacked with bells and whistles that Bronstein noted.
“While luxury amenities once defined the sector, the latest trend is a shift toward functionality, convenience, and affordability,” the report said.
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Hair oil, ACs, soaps become costlier: How FMCG companies are dealing with Middle East supply blow – The Times of India
Consumer goods companies in India are facing a sharp rise in input costs due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. Surging raw material prices are forcing firms to track costs on a near-daily basis, review pricing frequently, and focus on short-term decisions instead of long-term planning.As firms are struggling with volatile input costs, company executives have told ET that the sudden spike in inflation has made it harder to manage business, while also raising concerns that higher prices could hurt consumer demand. This comes at a time when consumption had started improving after the government reduced goods and services tax rates on several products last September.Havells India chief executive officer Anil Rai Gupta was cited by the financial agency as saying that the company is taking a cautious approach and reviewing the situation month by month. “I have not seen this kind of price escalation in the recent past or in recent memory. Usually, inflation happens, but it is neither so steep nor spread across all product categories… consumer offtake can get affected if the price hike is too sharp.” Bajaj Consumer Care managing director Naveen Pandey said the company is closely tracking input costs and taking decisions almost daily. Speaking during the company’s earnings call last week, he said costs across the business have gone up between 20% and 60%. He added that the war has created “extreme volatility” in the prices of light liquid paraffin and packaging materials. At the same time, prices of mustard and copra have not fallen as expected and are still at pre-war levels. The company is working on cutting costs across its operations.Industry executives said the war has pushed up commodity prices and crude-linked products, increased freight costs, and made imports more expensive due to the fall in rupee. They added that even after a ceasefire, prices have not come down, and uncertainty remains over whether the conflict could start again.In the past month, companies have already raised prices in several categories, including air-conditioners, refrigerators, soaps, detergents, hair oil, apparel, decorative paints and footwear. Some companies have also reduced pack sizes to deal with higher costs. More price hikes are expected by the end of this month.Parle Products vice president Mayank Shah said the pressure on input costs is very high and the uncertainty is “killing”.Retailers are also seeing more careful spending. Trent Ltd, which runs Westside and Zudio stores, said in an investor presentation that while demand was steady at the start of the January–March quarter, the current situation is affecting consumer behaviour.“Consumers are spending with caution, resulting in moderation of discretionary spending on the back of continuing macro uncertainties and potential increase in cost of living. Structurally the demand levels and the underlying market opportunities remain strong. However, the duration and intensity of disruptions in the Middle East along with its second order effect on supply chain, commodity prices and inflation in general has potential implications for near term demand,” the company said.AWL Agri Business executive deputy chairman Angshu Mallick said the company has already increased edible oil prices by Rs 7–10 per kg to pass on higher freight costs. “Being a staples company, we hike or reduce prices immediately. As we are in basic necessities, the volume impact is usually lower,” he said.Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict is inching closer towards the two month mark. The conflict began back on February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran. In retaliation, Tehran choked the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a pipeline that carries 20% of global energy supplies, straining flow across the globe.
UK retail sales returned to growth last month as they were pushed higher by motorists stocking up on fuel as prices shot higher because of the Iran war, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, rose by 0.7% in March.
It compared with a 0.6% fall in February, which was revised slightly lower.
The latest reading was also stronger than expected, with economists having predicted a 0.1% dip for the month.
Statisticians said March’s increase was particularly driven by a spike in demand for fuel, which saw sales volumes jump by 6.1% for the month, the highest level since April 2021.
They indicated that this was especially linked to a short period, of less than a week, of particularly elevated sales as unfolding geopolitical events in the Middle East caused a significant rise in prices at the pump.
The value of sales, the amount of money spent, for fuel was up 11.6% amid the jump in petrol and diesel prices.
Recent data from the RAC shows that petrol prices have risen by 18.5% to 157.34 pence per litre, as recorded on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, diesel is up 33.4% to an average of 189.88 pence per litre.
Elsewhere, clothing stores also had a strong month, with sales volumes across the category rising by 1.2% in March amid a boost from better weather conditions.
Technology retailers also saw sales grow after they benefited from new products launches.
However, food sales were weaker, slipping by 0.8% for the month.
The ONS said overall retail sales volumes are up 1.6% for the first three months of 2026, as the industry was also supported by positive growth in January.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales rose in the three months to March, with commercial art galleries doing well earlier in the quarter and sales in beauty products stores rising as retailers reported launching new collections.
“Motor fuel sales were up on the quarter, with retailers commenting that many motorists had been filling up their tanks in March following the start of conflict in the Middle East.”
Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The first batch of hard data on consumers’ spending since the start of the Iran war was better than expected.
“Granted, stocking up on motor fuels drove headline sales higher, but even excluding petrol retail sales volumes nudged up showing that households largely brushed off the initial shock of higher energy prices.”
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