Estimated preleasing reached 67.1% in March, according to the latest Yardi Matrix national student housing market report.
Report highlights
- Preleasing at Yardi 200 stood at 67.1% in March, higher than the estimated rate a year prior
- Rent growth continued to cool, dipping to 2.5% and marking the largest month-over-month drop in six years
- Preliminary enrollment data points toward strong year-over-year growth of 1.7%
- New supply has been decreasing, with 35,703 beds completed in 2024
Preleasing stays flat as rent growth cools
Estimated preleasing for the fall 2025 school year hit 67.7% in March—higher than the 65.1% forecasted at this point in 2024, according to the latest student housing report from Yardi Matrix. With the ongoing collection of data, the 67.1% rate for March is expected to decrease, similarly to previous years’ trends.
As of March, a total of 34 universities had a minimum preleasing rate of 80%. The largest student housing markets with the highest rates were Virginia Tech (93% preleased), Alabama (92.8%), Kentucky (91.3%), Wisconsin (90.3%), James Madison (89.5%) and Mizzou (88.9%).
On the opposite end, 41 markets were less than 50% preleased in March, with many in this cluster behind last year’s pace. The list included Utah Valley (25.3% preleased, 19.9% behind), UNCGreensboro (32.4%, 14.7% behind), the University of Houston (32.8%, 12.6% behind) and UTArlington (33.4%, 5.6% behind).
Student housing rent growth decelerates
The average annual rent growth in March stood at 2.5%, marking a 3.4% decrease since the previous month—the largest decline in the past six years. The average rent per bed remained at record highs and hit $918 that month, ticking up $1 since February.
A slowing preleasing rate, along with new construction underway in larger student housing markets, has been impacting rent growth. For example, Tennessee had 3,261 beds under construction and an annual rent decline of 6% in March 2025, compared to 22.6% rent growth in March 2024.
Based on enrollment data gathered from 183 schools for the fall 2024 academic year, numbers point towards a 1.7% year-over-year increase in students. For context, the fall 2023 annual enrollment growth reached only 1.2%. Primary state schools registered the largest enrollment increases, opposed to tertiary state and private universities, which had the biggest declines.
New supply of student housing has been declining, with a total of 35,703 student housing beds delivered in 2024—down from 44,746 beds in 2023. Yardi Matrix forecasts that supply will continue to decrease to 32,100 beds in 2025 and 33,995 beds in 2026.
Read the full Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Market Report: April 2025.
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