As we close out another successful year, Capstone Real Estate Investments proudly marks its 14th year of operations.
The student housing sector continued to demonstrate strong fundamentals, with solid occupancy and rate growth for the 2025–26 academic year. Our stabilized student housing portfolio delivered meaningful revenue growth, driven by tight supply-and-demand dynamics in our markets and the performance of our experienced onsite teams. Conventional assets experienced more modest growth as certain markets worked through new supply. While select student housing markets may see some easing in 2026, we are off to a strong start with preleasing for the 2026–27 academic year.
Despite a challenging acquisition environment characterized by limited opportunities and competitive bidding, CREI remained opportunistic in 2025, completing two unique student housing acquisitions and condominium conversions in highly competitive SEC markets.
In January, CREI acquired The Hub Auburn (now Harper Flatts Condominiums) in Auburn, Alabama. Built in 1989, the 96-unit / 368-bed property presented a compelling value-add opportunity through renovation and unit reconfiguration. Beginning in June, renovations focused on converting four-bedroom units into high-end two- and three-bedroom floor plans. To date, 34 units have sold with six more under contract, demonstrating strong demand. Renovations are expected to be completed in Q3 2026, with a full sell-out anticipated shortly thereafter. Our second project began in April with the acquisition of a portion of The Hangout Starkville in Starkville, Mississippi. The repositioned Five Points Condominiums delivered newly renovated three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath units. Sales momentum has been strong, and we anticipate a full sell-out in the Spring of 2026. These projects reflect CREI’s ability to identify and execute “out-of-the-box” opportunities that meet unique market needs and create value.
In October 2025, CREI also completed the sale of two properties: The Cardinal at West Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Raiders Walk Apartments in Lubbock, Texas. A third sale is scheduled to close in mid-January 2026.
CollegeTown Construction, CREI’s construction affiliate, completed renovations at Five Points Condominiums in 2025 and will continue work at Harper Flatts through summer 2026 while also supporting several large capital projects across our stabilized portfolio. We extend special recognition to our construction field teams, whose dedication and adaptability ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Our property management division delivered another strong leasing season, finishing the 2024–25 academic year at 98.5% leased. The portfolio also achieved meaningful gains in resident satisfaction and online reputation, with average maintenance satisfaction scores of 4.6 and an overall Google rating of 4.11. At our Annual Manager Summit in November, we proudly recognized Greg Golden of University Oaks in Kent, Ohio, as Community Manager of the Year, and Troy Dickinson of Legacy Student Living in Tallahassee, Florida, as Maintenance Supervisor of the Year.
In 2025, we celebrated 17 internal promotions and welcomed back 14 returning associates, including four in full-time roles with equal or higher levels of responsibility.
As our mission states, CREI’s goal is not to be the largest operator, but to be the best—consistently creating value while balancing risk and reward. We are proud of what our team accomplished in 2025 and look forward to building on this momentum in 2026.
Happy New Year from all of us at CREI.
