Student Housing Leasing On Pace with 2018

Student housing leasing activity is on track for another strong year, keeping pace with fall 2018 activity. According to Axiometrics, student housing was 65% pre-leased as of April, while some companies are outperforming compared to last year. Pierce Education Properties, for example, has seen pre-leasing activity increase 9.3% compared to last year. Overall, student housing owners are expecting similar activity.

“The most notable change in pre-leasing year over year was the fact that most companies started the pre-leasing process earlier—many as early as September—this year than in year’s past,” Fred Pierce, founder, president and CEO of Pierce Education Properties, tells GlobeSt.com.

Developers are responding to the plateau in leasing activity. With leasing activity unchanged year-over-year, growth in the construction pipeline is also slowing. “A total of 45,721 beds are expected to be delivered in Fall 2019.  This new supply represents a 5.8% increase in nationwide supply over 2018, which is the lowest percentage increase in inventory since the Great Recession in 2010,” says Pierce.