The latest National Student Housing Report reveals that preleasing reached 93% in August, according to Yardi Matrix data. This figure is 80 basis points above the final estimate for August 2025 and 120 basis points higher than August 2024.
Class A communities were 93.8% preleased, compared with 92.1% for Class B and 91.7% for Class C assets. Properties within a quarter-mile of campus reached 93.4%, while those more than 2 miles away were 88.7% preleased.
Market Highlights and Challenges
At the market level, 28 schools reported full preleasing, and 11 were above 99%. The University of Maryland and Auburn University were fully preleased, while the University of Missouri reached 99.9% and Virginia Tech reached 99.8%. Fifty-two schools remained below 90% preleased, including Utah Valley at 71.1%, Syracuse at 77.9%, and North Carolina State at 78.8%.
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Rent Growth and Enrollment Trends
The average advertised asking rent fell to $927 per bed in August, down from $929 in July and $930 in June. Annual rent growth held at 2%, but the 2026-2027 leasing season averaged 1.1%, down from 2.8% a year earlier and 5.9% two leasing seasons ago. Same-store growth averaged 0.4%.
Properties within a quarter-mile of campus averaged 1.6% rent growth during the leasing season, compared with a 1.2% decline for communities more than 2 miles away. Auburn and Oklahoma recorded 7.7% annual rent growth, while Arizona and Purdue experienced declines of 7.2% and 11.4%, respectively.
Among 38 schools reporting fall 2026 enrollment numbers, total enrollment increased by 6,840 students, or 0.6%, to 1.1 million. Arizona State University’s Tempe campus and the University of North Texas reported declines of 7.4% and 3.6%, respectively, while Texas Tech and Georgia Southern posted gains of 9.2% and 7.6%.