Student housing surveyed preleasing reached 85.2% as of June 2024, according to the latest Yardi Matrix national student housing market report.
Report highlights
- Surveyed preleasing at Yardi 200 schools hit 85.2% in June, on par with last year’s figure, but ahead of previous years
- The average advertised rent per bed clocked in at $898, marking a 5% bump since June 2023
- Supply forecast projects that 45,500 will come online in 2024, nearly 8,000 beds more than last year
- Student housing sales slightly accelerated and caught up to last year’s volume year-to-date through June, with deals exceeding $1 billion
Preleasing slows during summer
As of June 2024, surveyed preleasing at Yardi 200 schools reached 85.2%, identical to last year’s rate at this point, according to the latest Yardi Matrix national student housing report. As students return home for the summer months, the preleasing pace has slowed. A total of 39 universities already reached last year’s final preleasing rate of 94%, while 13 markets hit the 99.7% mark as of June.
27 markets were less than 70% preleased at the end of June 2024, most of which were smaller markets. Some larger universities were also on this list, including Washington State (65.6% preleased, 5.8% behind), the University of Cincinnati (63.7% preleased, 36.1% behind) and UT-Arlington (61.4%, -15.4%). The top three schools for most year-over-year growth in percentage preleased were Central Michigan (15.2% growth), University of Nebraska (15.2% growth) and Bowling Green State (15.1% growth).
Rent growth averaged 6.1% for the leasing season
With advertised rent growth continually moderating throughout the season and reaching 5% in June, Yardi 200 schools averaged a 6.1% rent growth since October 2023.
Preleasing and enrollment trends are two main factors driving rent growth. FAFSA filing and processing issues might pose a concern for near-term enrollment growth. In mid-2024, 46% of school seniors filed for financial aid, compared to 53% in June 2023. The top four schools for rent growth were on average 93.4% preleased and had 4.7% enrollment growth in 2023, while the bottom four averaging 67.4% preleased and -1.1% enrollment growth.
Some smaller schools that had significant annual rent growth in June were Vermont (16.7% rent growth), San Jose State (15.8%), Oregon State (15.8%), New Hampshire (15.6%) and Ohio University in Athens (13%). Small markets with the lowest rent growth were Memphis (-9.1% rent growth), CU-Colorado Springs (-6.6%), Kansas State (-6.4%) and Miami-Oxford (-4.9%).
Yardi Matrix projects that 45,500 beds will deliver in 2024, versus 37,576 beds brought online by developers last year. Year-to-date through June, student housing sales amounted to more than $1 billion, roughly on par with last year's volume at this point. Consistent with previous years, the investment volume is expected to pick up pace in the second half of the year.
Read the full Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Market Report: July 2024.
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