Student Housing Pre-Leasing Rebounds to Pre-Pandemic Norms

While student housing pre-leasing started slowly, leasing bounced back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the Fall 2021 pre-leasing season. As of August, the final month in the pre-lease season, occupancy across the universities that make up the RealPage 175 hit an average of 92%. That rate ranks far higher than 2020’s pandemic-impacted rate of just 87%. This year’s final pre-lease occupancy is in line with the averages from 2017-2019, which were also around 92%. Looking at the schools within the RealPage 175, over 40% claim pre-lease rates above 95% in Fall 2021. Over the past year, the student housing pre-lease season got off to a slow start in the winter and spring months, but unprecedented monthly gains in the summer months pushed the final national pre-lease occupancy forward notably.