Student housing leasing activity has accelerated as the academic year approaches, with national pre-leasing metrics showing year-over-year improvement. Across the Yardi 200—a benchmark representing 90% of institutional student housing markets—pre-leasing reached 89.1% in July, up from 88.1% in July 2025, though this represents a slight decline from August 2025 levels of 89.9%. Of the 200 markets tracked, 117 achieved or exceeded their prior-year pre-leasing figures, indicating mixed performance across the sector.
However, market fundamentals are increasingly diverging across universities and regions. New construction is concentrating in large metropolitan markets, which is pressuring overall performance metrics at institutions with the highest bed counts. Some university markets are experiencing strong demand and limited supply, while others face oversupply and weakening demand. According to Tyson Huebner, director of research at Yardi Matrix, this geographic and institutional concentration is creating distinct investment opportunities and challenges.
Harrison Street Asset Management, one of the sector’s largest investors and developers, underscores this divergence. The firm manages over $24 billion across 432 properties representing more than 238,000 beds in 200 university markets across North America and Europe since its 2005 inception. Mike Gordon, global chief investment officer for real estate at Harrison Street, notes that investor interest in student housing remains high, but expertise in navigating market variations is limited. Gordon emphasizes that premier research universities with strong graduation outcomes and alumni earnings—particularly large public Power Four conference schools—are experiencing occupancies at or above 95%, with housing supply lagging enrollment growth at institutions including Virginia Tech, Auburn, and Penn State.
Harrison Street pursues a selective strategy, acquiring and developing assets directly and through public-private partnerships with state universities. The firm has also been strategically divesting certain properties in response to elevated demand in specific markets. The company sold a 12-property portfolio earlier this year for $910 million, marking one of the sector’s largest recent transactions.
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