Student Housing Pre-Lease Momentum Slows in July 2024

U.S. student housing pre-leasing momentum slowed in July, with only one month left in the Fall 2024 pre-lease season.

As of July, roughly 88.4% of beds at the core 175 universities tracked by RealPage were leased for the Fall 2024 semester. While it’s normal for momentum to slow in July, the most recent showing was notably behind July pre-lease rates from Fall 2023 (90.5%) and Fall 2022 (91.7%). Even so, July pre-lease rates remain ahead of pre-COVID norms.

After pre-lease momentum chugged along at an average pace of about 6% per month for the past three months, momentum slowed recently, as just 3.9% of student housing beds were leased between June and July. Leasing typically slows down in the summer months when students leave campus, but this was a below-average performance. In comparison, leasing rates between June and July were more impressive in Fall 2023 (4.7%) and Fall 2022 (5.5%).

Across distances from campus, properties farthest from campus reported the tightest pre-lease occupancy as of July at 88.8%. Properties within a half mile of campus matched the RealPage 175 average of 88.4%, while properties within a half mile to one mile of campus garnered the lowest (but still historically strong) pre-lease occupancy of 88.1% as of July.

Across the RealPage 175, annual effective rent growth softened to 3.9% in July, which was the lowest rate seen so far this pre-lease season. Properties more than one mile from campus continued to report the strongest rent growth at 5.4% as of July, followed by slightly softer readings at properties closer to campus.