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August 2026: Markets gear up for fall move-ins
New data from Yardi Matrix reveals that preleasing at the Yardi 200 schools approached 90% in July 2026, 100 basis points above the final occupancy data recorded in July 2025, as 117 of the 200 markets equaled or exceeded their July 2025 preleasing levels.
Midwest leads preleasing
Preleasing in the Midwest stood at 90.9% in July, with the Southeast (with more than half of the Yardi 200 beds) and the Northeast close behind at 88.9% and 89.1%, respectively. The slower-leasing West was the only region to trail last year’s July level, falling 40 basis points to 87%.
Rent growth accelerates
Year-over-year rent growth measured 2% in July, even as the average per-bed advertised rent has remained unchanged since February. This acceleration owes to a large degree a 1.6% decline in rents from March to August 2025.
The Northeast and Midwest regions led year-over-year rent growth in July, rising 3% and 2.5%, respectively. The West had the highest average rent at $1,094 including a 1.4% increase in July, but earlier declines checked its leasing-season growth, which measured just 0.1%.
In the current leasing that began in October 2025, “year-over-year growth has averaged 1% which compares to growth of 2.7% in 2024-25 and 5.9% in 2023-24,” according to a new national report from Yardi Matrix.
Factors contributing to uneven performance
Yardi Matrix reports that “new supply is increasingly concentrated in large markets, dragging down performance at schools with the most beds and weighing more heavily on national markets.”
Also, reports indicate that international student enrollment is in sharp decline, impacting several already-challenged markets that serve schools with large international populations such as the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, North Texas University and Purdue University.
Get details in new report
Learn more about key trends in student housing preleasing, rent growth and other fundamentals in the Yardi Matrix Student Housing National Report for August 2026.
June 2026: Setting the stage for a busy season
Preleasing for the Yardi 200 schools, while trailing 2022-24 levels, exceeds last year’s pace as advertised rents per bed continue to rise, according to Yardi Matrix research released this month.
Preleasing reached 78% in May 2026 but “will need to remain strong through the summer to achieve the 93-96% occupancy levels recorded the past few years,” according to a new Yardi Matrix national report.
Steady rent increases
Also in May, student housing rents increased 0.2% month-over-month and 1.7% year-over-year, reaching an average of $933 per bed. However, the average leasing season rent growth for the upcoming academic year stands at 0.9%, far below the 2.6%, 5.9% and 7% levels recorded in 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24, respectively.
Recent deals uplift transaction outlook
Many investors, watching owners and operators navigate a more challenging leasing season, kept to the sidelines in the first half of 2026, with the total number of beds sold year to date through the first half of May down 37% year-over-year from 2025. However, two recently announced deals valued at more than $2.4 billion have lifted the outlook for the year.
Sector poised for an active summer
Markets matching or exceeding the previous fall 2025 occupancy levels include Northern Arizona University and the University of Iowa. Virginia Tech, the University of Missouri, Penn State and Boise State are within three percentage points of last year’s occupancy.
The gap between the strongest and weakest markets continues to widen, with the top 50 highest-preleased markets averaging 92.1%, 9.5% ahead of May 2025, and the 50 lowest-released markets averaging 54%, 8.5% behind last year.
The current state of preleasing activity “sets the stage for a busy summer leasing season,” the report notes.
Get more information on student housing market fundamentals in the Yardi Matrix Student Housing National Report for June 2026.
May: Market weathering the challenges
Preleasing for the Yardi 200 schools is estimated at 71.6% in April 2026, 200 basis points above the Yardi Matrix final estimate for March but behind the April levels recorded in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The 7.6% month-over-month preleasing increase in April lagged the 8.6% seen in the first three months of the year. “Operators have cited a more challenging preleasing environment this year compared to prior years due to competition from new supply and weakness in the conventional multifamily sector,” according to a new national report from Yardi Matrix.
A mix of preleasing paces
The preleasing pace varies across the country, with markets such as Virginia Tech, the University of Missouri and Western Carolina University already approaching last year’s final occupancy levels. Meanwhile, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Arlington and Cornell University are among the markets that are struggling to gain momentum.
Rent growth offers hopeful sign
Student housing rent growth rose 1.2% year-over-year in April, an increase from the 0.8% and 0.4% growth registered in March and February, respectively, and the first time since early 2023 that rent growth accelerated for two consecutive months. This development suggests that “operators are regaining confidence in pricing going into the summer leasing season,” the report notes.
While Auburn University led all large student housing markets with 8.3% rent growth in March, its growth decelerated to 7.6% in April. Rent growth at Nevada-Reno, 6.9% in March, slowed to 6.2% in April, while the University of Kansas saw a decline to 4.9% from 6.1%.
Webinar & report provide more info
A recent Yardi Matrix webinar addressed key student housing issues including enrollment growth, preleasing and rent growth in the upcoming academic year, investment activity and more.
More information about the student housing environment is available in the Yardi Matrix Student Housing National Report for May 2026.
April: Outlook remains cautious as renters show savvy
Early data on indicates that U.S. student housing preleasing as of March 2026 was ahead of last year’s pace, reaching 65.5%. Although this estimate may be revised downward as more data becomes available, it is 340 basis points ahead of the final estimate for 2025.
Rent growth for student housing totaled 0.8% in March, up from 0.4% in February and 0.7% in January, but down from the 2.6% and 6.3% levels reached in March 2025 and March 2024, respectively.
Evolving customer behavior
These trends indicate that preleasing and rent growth “have become more challenging, reflecting a return to long-term average fundamentals.” This challenge reflects “rapidly evolving customer behavior in the AI era, affordability concerns following years of strong rent growth and increased competition from new supply and competitive multifamily,” according to a new national report from Yardi Matrix.
Rent rates follow enrollment, supply
Many markets with strong rent growth this year, such as Auburn University and the University of Nevada-Reno, have benefited from enrollment gains that outpace new supply. Other markets where new development has followed prior year rent gains, including Purdue University and the University of Arizona, saw sharp rent growth in March.
Meanwhile, rates at Baylor University, where rents declined 6.5% in March, have fallen to June 2022 levels, while rents per bed at North Texas University are at the lowest level since August 2023.
Overall, the pricing environment has become more challenging as “residents have become more savvy to strategies that push rate growth early in the season and adjust rates downward later to fill remaining beds.”
Learn more about student housing fundamentals in the Yardi Matrix Student Housing National Report for April 2026.
March: Preleasing rises, rent growth decelerates
Preleasing for the Yardi 200 schools reached an estimated 58.6% in February 2026, exceeding the totals for the previous two Februarys. However, rent growth continued to decelerate over the month, with the $925-per-bed figure representing a year-over-year increase but trailing the January growth rate.
Normalization in progress
A new report from Yardi Matrix notes that despite solid enrollment growth in fall 2025 and relatively modest supply additions, “early indicators for the 2026-2027 academic year point to a normalization in performance following years of record growth.”
Factors driving this normalization include competition from a soft multifamily sector in some metros and a concentration of new deliveries in previously high-growth markets.
Supply drives rent growth & decline
Although rent growth has slowed across most markets, a few posted strong gains in February. The University of Mississippi recorded 10.6% growth, for example, and Oklahoma State University posted 9.8% growth. Other standouts include Auburn University and the University of Kansas.
On the other end of the scale, Purdue University, with more than 2,000 beds under construction and 1,400 completed over the past three years, saw rents decline by 8% in February. The University of Arizona, with consistent development over several years, saw a 6% drop. Other markets whose under-construction projects pushed rents downward include the University of Arkansas and Clemson University.
Learn more about the latest U.S. student housing supply and rent growth trends in the Yardi Matrix Student Housing National Report for March 2026.
