Student Housing Continues Strong Rent Growth

The student housing sector continues to record strong rent growth and preleasing performance is up slightly over 2022, according to the latest National Student Housing Report from Yardi Matrix.

As of June, 86.6% of beds at Yardi 200 universities were preleased for the upcoming fall term, a 5.2% increase from the prior month.

June also marked the fifth consecutive month of annual rent growth over seven percent at Yardi 200 universities, at 7.2%.

Given that 2022 held the previous rent record for student housing, obtaining more than seven percent growth off of previous record-high numbers is exceptional. The average rent per bed at Yardi 200 universities was $846 at quarter-end, a new all-time record.

"Under the surface of solid overall fundamentals at the Yardi 200 level is mixed performance at individual schools, as some universities are doing exceptionally well while others fall short," said state Matrix analysts. "Performance at the university level is mainly correlated to local supply-and-demand dynamics rather than higher-level trends."

The student housing data set includes over 2,000 universities and colleges nationwide, including the top 200 investment grade universities across all major collegiate conferences. Known as the "Yardi 200," it includes all Power 5 conferences as well as Carnegie R1 and R2 universities.

However, the sector isn't totally unscathed by current economic conditions. Transaction volume through the second quarter was down about 73% from the same time last year, a stark reminder of weakening economic sentiment.

But that hasn't slowed the off-campus dedicated student housing development pipeline, which expanded by approximately 28,000 bedrooms since January.

To read the full report, including more data, charts, and methodology, click here.