Front Half of Student Housing Pre-Lease Season Shines, While Back Half Slumps

Reflecting on the Fall 2024 in student housing data shows a stark contrast between the front half of the pre-lease season compared to the back half.

From September to February, roughly half of the pre-lease season, student housing beds were being leased at essentially the fastest pace on record. From March to August, on the other hand, pre-leasing slumped to basically the slowest pace on record, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics.

In February 2024, RealPage was reporting a leasing schedule that was on pace with the fastest velocity on record. At that time, pre-lease velocity was easily ahead of the long-term average. But a strong first half of the season means there are fewer beds to be leased in the back half, and that’s exactly what happened. Indeed, Fall 2024 saw the slowest final six-month window on record, even including the 2020 pandemic year. In short, moderation began quite rapidly in the back half of Fall 2024.

At the same time, conventional housing occupancy began to bottom out, suggesting that students had more conventional and student competitive (also called shadow market) options to shop as well.

Looking ahead, the pace of deceleration we saw in the second half of 2024 will likely be far less drastic in Fall 2025. Yesterday’s moderation is tomorrow’s stabilization.

For more information on the state of the Student Housing apartment market, including forecasts, watch the webcast Market Intelligence: Student Housing Year-End Wrap-Up.