Despite Enrollment Drop, Student Housing Continues Strong Performance, Yardi Matrix Reports

Preleasing and rents were both up in March for top-tier schools

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 26, 2022 – Despite a drop in college enrollment over the last two years, the student housing industry continues to perform well and is exhibiting healthy rent growth and preleasing for Fall 2022.

The new National Student Housing Report from Yardi® Matrix is now available and offers an optimistic outlook for the sector.

“The student housing industry continued its stellar performance into the first quarter of 2022. Pre- leasing and rent growth were incredibly strong, even compared to pre-pandemic performance,” states the report.

As of March, preleasing for next fall was recorded at 63.7 percent across Yardi 200 schools. That’s 13.5 percent higher than the same time last year and 9.9 percent higher than March 2019, before the pandemic. The average rent per bedroom is $777 for Fall 2022, an increase of nearly three percent over 2021.

However, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall undergraduate enrollment fell 3.1 percent in fall 2021 compared to 2020, with a loss of more than one million students.

“Consolidation in the higher education system may be a positive force for the most competitive private and public flagship universities, where most institutional student housing is located,” say Matrix analysts. “For this reason, we still have a positive outlook for the dedicated off-campus student housing industry despite national enrollment declines.”

Learn more about why both student housing rent growth and occupancy are expected to stabilize over the next few years in the new report. A recent webinar discussed the student housing outlook in detail – the recording and presentation materials are available.

Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, student housing, industrial, office and self storage property types. Email [email protected], call (480) 663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn more.

About Yardi

Yardi® develops and supports industry-leading investment and property management software for all types and sizes of real estate companies. With 8,000 employees, Yardi is working with clients globally to drive significant innovation in the real estate industry. For more information on how Yardi is Energized for Tomorrow, visit yardi.com.