Preleasing reached 54.6% in January, according to the latest Yardi Matrix national student housing market report.
Report highlights
- Preleasing at Yardi 200 stood at 54.6% in January, ahead of trended 48.2% a year prior
- Rent growth continued to cool, dipping to 3.4% to $911 per bed in January and averaging 4.0% for the ongoing season
- Partial enrollment data points toward strong growth, compared to previous years
- More student housing properties changed hands in 2024 than in 2023, with the average price per bed reaching more than $101,000
Preleasing for the fall 2025 year exceeds 50%
Estimated preleasing for the 2025-2026 academic year has reached 54.6% in the first month of 2025—ahead of the 48.2% recoded one year prior. As more data is collected, the January 2025 rate will likely decrease, based experience from previous years.
A total of 46 schools reached at least 60% preleased as of January, including 17 markets which posted a minimum rate of 80%. Large student housing markets with high preleasing rates were Mizzou (90.8% preleased), Wisconsin (83.7%), Alabama (81.3%), James Madison (79.4%), Auburn (79%) and Purdue (76.7%).
On the other side of the spectrum, 34 schools didn’t exceed the 30% preleased mark, including 13 student housing markets with 10 or more properties, such as Southern California (9% preleased), Brigham Young (20.1%), UNC-Greensboro (21.4%), UT-San Antonio (23.7%), Temple (26.9%) and UC-Davis (28.1%).
Rent growth remains on downward trend
The average advertised rents across Yardi 200 universities reached $911 per bed as of January—marking a 3.2% increase year-over-year. With the average rent growth at 4% for the ongoing season, rent growth has decelerated for most of the previous 18 months.
Annual rent growth varies between 24.6% at Ole Miss down to -15.8% at UC-Berkeley. A total of 21 of the Yardi 200 institutions posted double-digit rent growth, while 51 schools experienced year-over-year rent declines in January.
Yardi Matrix has collected enrollment data from 156 schools for the fall 2024 school year, which posted a 1.7% year-over-year growth, compared to 1.2% growth the previous year and 0.1% growth in fall 2022 for the same schools.
New supply has been dropping: in 2024, a total of 35,703 off-campus, dedicated student housing beds came online—marking a decrease from 2023’s 44,746 beds completed. Yardi Matrix forecasts this downward trend to continued over the next several years.
Last year’s total sales volume for student housing communities included 129 properties that changed hands—50 more than in 203. The average price per bed increased, landing at $101,000 in 2024.
Read the full Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Market Report: February 2025.
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