Today’s guest is Henry Morton, and as President of Campus Suites, he is the perfect person to talk to about student housing.
Henry describes how student housing has changed throughout his career, along with major differences he sees between the US and Canada. He explains his vision for student housing and talks about challenges faced in the space.
Topics covered include:
- The evolution of student housing.
- Why Henry shifted from the USA to Canada.
- Why student housing isn’t like an apartment building.
- Amenity inflation and “tricked out” suites.
- Challenges of financing in the student housing sector.
- The demise of “chopped up houses” accommodation for students.
- Markets that have gone from underserved to overdeveloped.
- The role of community assistants at Campus Suites’ properties.
- Expectations that students want in the US versus Canada.
- Henry’s philosophy on the proper suite structure.
- Rental prices on both private and shared units.
- Better treatment of units in Canada when compared to the US.
- Safety issues that Henry has seen over the years.
- What lenders want to see before providing funds.
- The differences between the provinces.