The Ann Arbor News today responds to my concerns, in the article, Builders make a bet on UM students, saying, "area developers say the college student housing market in a city like Ann Arbor is close to being recession-proof."

They cite 5 private student-oriented developments with a capacity of 3,830 residents, in addition to the U's new North Quad, with 460, while U enrollment has gone up 2,011 in 4 years. So that's 8+ years of new capacity coming online in the next two. The developers say they're not planning for enrollment increases so much as providing a better product that will lure students in. Right. Because, in this economy, college students really want to pay for individual bathrooms and granite countertops.