Business & Finance
Student housing pre-leasing rises as investors navigate widening market differences
Pre-leasing rates are up slightly compared to last year, but industry leaders warn that regional variation is growing.
The short version
- Pre-leasing across major student housing markets reached 89.1% in July, a slight increase from 88.1% in July 2025.
- Harrison Street Asset Management, a major sector investor, reports that top-tier university markets are operating at or above 95% occupancy due to lagging supply and strong student demand.
- Investment experts emphasize that specialization is increasingly vital as performance diverges widely between different university markets.
Key facts
- Pre-leasing across the Yardi 200 student housing markets reached 89.1% in July, which is higher than the 88.1% recorded in July 2025 but below the 89.9% level from August 2025.[CNBC]
- Out of the 200 markets surveyed by Yardi in July, 117 were at or above their pre-leasing levels from the previous year.[CNBC]
- Yardi Matrix research director Tyson Huebner noted that new housing supply is concentrated in large markets, which drags down overall national metrics.[CNBC]
- Harrison Street Asset Management has allocated over $24 billion across 432 student housing properties containing more than 238,000 beds since 2005.[CNBC]
- Earlier in the year, Harrison Street sold a 12-property student housing portfolio for $910 million, representing one of the largest sector dispositions in recent years.[CNBC]
- Harrison Street's chief investment officer, Mike Gordon, stated that several leading university markets—including Michigan, UVA, UNC, Virginia Tech, Auburn, and Penn State—are operating at or above 95% occupancy.[CNBC]
What remains uncertain
- The long-term impact of funding cuts and shifting enrollment trends on smaller or regional university housing markets remains to be fully seen.[CNBC]