Students are locking in beds earlier than they did a year ago. Within the Yardi 200 - an index spanning roughly 90% of the institutional student housing universe - pre-leasing reached 89.1% in July, prior to students returning for the fall term. That tops July 2025's 88.1%, though it trails the 89.9% mark reached in August 2025.
The topline masks a split picture. Yardi reported that 117 of the 200 university markets it tracks were at or above their year-ago pre-leasing levels in July, but performance diverged sharply by campus and region.
In a note from Yardi Matrix, research chief Tyson Huebner wrote, "New supply is increasingly concentrated in large markets, dragging down performance at schools with the most beds and weighing more heavily on national metrics."
That clustering matters. Some schools are running hotter, with high occupancies and limited new construction, while others are digesting excess building just as demand cools. The gap in fundamentals has widened as campuses face fast-changing enrollment, funding cuts and specific student demand.
Harrison Street Asset Management ranks among the sector's heavyweight owners and builders. Since 2005, the firm has invested over $24 billion in 432 student housing assets, exceeding 238,000 beds positioned in 200 university markets across North America and Europe.
Mike Gordon of Harrison Street, who serves as the firm's chief investment officer with worldwide responsibility for real estate, remarked, "Our conviction in student housing is really high, but our conviction in every student housing market is not." He added, "Frankly, I think that creates a really interesting investment environment."
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According to Gordon, many investors are trying to gain exposure to the sector, yet only a small cadre of managers bring long-track records. He contended that focus and expertise matter more today because the gaps between university markets have widened rapidly amid funding cuts, enrollment trends, and particular patterns of student demand.
"Enrollment, applications, selectivity, research funding, student outcomes are increasingly concentrated at many of the leading institutions. Michigan, UVA, UNC, a number of the large public Power Four universities," he said. "Prospective students continue to value strong graduation incomes, alumni earnings, research capabilities, and many of the university markets that we focus on are really operating at or above 95% occupancy."
He pointed to Virginia Tech, Auburn University and Penn State as examples where housing supply has lagged enrollment growth. "I think about the best university towns almost like factory towns where the factory is never closing. The university is the factory, and what it produces is intellectual capital. It attracts students, obviously, but also professors and researchers, entrepreneurs, companies that want to be close to that intellectual capital, and everyone needs somewhere to live," Gordon said.
Gordon said Harrison Street both buys and builds properties directly and also works through public-private partnerships with state universities. The firm has been pruning as well, taking advantage of stronger demand in select locations. Earlier this year, the firm sold a portfolio of 12 student housing assets for $910 million, placing it among the sector's biggest sales in recent years.
If you are watching student housing, the story is not "up" or "down" - it is "which campus." National leasing is firm and some flagship schools are running at or above 95% occupancy, but new construction clustered around big markets is weighing on the averages. Translation: outcomes hinge on the specific university and its demand drivers, not the broad category.