By Kristena Hansen | Phoenix Business Journal
The boom in off-campus student housing construction began in the late 1990s and has exploded to all-time highs this year, particularly in Arizona, raising widespread concerns of overbuilding.
A national analysis released last week by Axiometrics Inc. showed an average of 3,900 new off-campus student beds were delivered per year between 1990 and 1995. For the years since then, the average annual rate has been 26,000 — until this year. The figure has almost doubled for the 2013-14 school year, to 51,000 new beds, with 40,000 more already in progress for the 2014-15 school year, according to Axiometrics.
The trend has been especially notable at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, which Axiometrics ranked among the top 10 for bed deliveries this school year.
