Estimated preleasing reached 93% in August for the 2026\u20132027 academic year, while leasing-season rent growth slowed to 1.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preleasing across the Yardi 200 reached 93% in August, placing the current leasing season ahead of the final August 2025 estimate by 80 basis points and August 2024 by 120 basis points. Although the preliminary figure could move as September occupancy is finalized, historical revisions suggest final occupancy will settle near 94% to 94.5%. Nearly 320 individual properties reported being fully preleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Market performance favored higher-quality assets and properties closest to campus. Class A communities were 93.8% preleased, compared with 92.1% for Class B and 91.7% for Class C. Properties within 0.25 miles of campus reached 93.4% preleasing, and those between 0.25 and 0.5 miles reached 93.2%. By contrast, communities more than 2 miles away were 88.7% preleased and 110 basis points behind last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty-eight markets reported 100% preleasing, while another 11 were above 99%. University of Maryland and Auburn were fully preleased, University of Missouri reached 99.9%, and Virginia Tech stood at 99.8%. At the other end of the range, 52 schools were below 90% and 21 were below 80%. Utah Valley, Syracuse, Delaware and North Carolina State were among the most notable markets lagging behind. NC State\u2019s 78.8% rate followed the delivery of 2,195 beds in August, with another 970 beds under construction for 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Average advertised rent declined to $927 per bed in August, from $929 in July and $930 in June. The 0.2% monthly decrease brought rents to their lowest level since January 2026. Annual growth held at 2%, but the leasing-season average slowed to 1.1%, compared with 2.8% for the 2025\u20132026 season and 5.9% for 2024\u20132025. Same-store growth was softer at only 0.4% since October 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n