- Student housing demand hit a decade high, with 96.5% of beds pre-leased nationally for Fall 2025.
- Pre-leasing started slow but accelerated sharply in spring, reaching near-historic norms by April.
- Occupancy remained tight across all locations, with rates above 96% regardless of distance from campus.
- Core university markets led the surge, with RealPage tracking 96.7% pre-leased at 175 major schools.
A Late Bloom Turns Record-Breaker
Student housing demand for the Fall 2025 semester may have started slowly, but it ended on a high note, reports RealPage. After one of the slowest pre-lease starts in recent memory, the market rebounded sharply. By August, the national pre-lease rate reached 96.5%—the strongest showing in at least ten years.
Among the 175 core universities tracked by RealPage, the rate was even slightly higher at 96.7%, indicating particularly robust demand in key student markets.
From Lagging To Leading
The turnaround was striking. In November 2024, only 16.1% of student housing beds were leased—a historically low early-season figure. Even by December, the pace remained tepid at 25.6%. But demand accelerated dramatically in early 2025, reaching nearly 70% by April and continuing its upward trajectory through summer.
Tight Demand Across All Distances
By August, leasing strength was evident across all property types, regardless of their distance from campus:
- Within 0.5 miles: 96.7% leased
- 0.5–1 mile: 96.6% leased
- 1+ mile: 96.5% leased
This clustering of occupancy rates underscores a broad-based demand, not just limited to walkable locations.
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Why It Matters
The resilience of the student housing sector is once again on display. Despite early concerns, strong late-season leasing confirms that underlying demand remains healthy—especially near major universities. For investors and developers, this cycle is a reminder that slow starts don’t always predict weak outcomes, and that student housing continues to be a stable asset class even amid market uncertainty.
What’s Next
With Fall 2025 fully leased, attention now turns to early trends for Fall 2026. If the recent pattern holds, developers and operators may need to be more flexible with early-season strategies—but can remain confident in long-term fundamentals.
