John Pawlowski, senior analyst, residential, at Green Street Advisors, participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles.
Pawlowski said apartment fundamentals are very stable as compared to other property types, so there were few surprises there in the third quarter 2019 residential earnings season.
“Within that stable backdrop [though], we’re seeing apartment REIT revenue growth decelerate from mid-3% down to 3%,” he said, adding that the West Coast was weaker in the third quarter 2019 than expected, and the Sunbelt was “the winner.”
Turning to student housing, Pawlowski said that investors can still make “plenty of money in student housing,” but that they should be more calculated in selecting where they will invest.
“By and large, the top schools in the country will fare better, but it’s within a restrained demand backdrop versus other residential property types,” he said.
Pawlowski also said “there’s more room to run” within single-family rental REITs, noting that the demand versus the supply backdrop for the asset class is one of the most compelling across the sectors that Green Street covers.