[[{“value”:”
Student housing preleasing for the 2026–2027 academic year is off to a solid start, with early data indicating a stronger leasing pace than at the same point last year, according to Yardi Matrix. The firm reported that national preleasing across its Yardi 200 university markets reached 52.3% in January 2026, compared with an estimated 45.6% in January 2025, underscoring robust early demand even as performance diverges widely by campus.
The latest Student Housing National Report highlights stark differences across schools. In January, 64 universities within the Yardi 200 were at least 10% ahead of their preleasing pace from a year earlier. Among the standouts were Georgia Tech, the University of Illinois, Virginia Tech and Auburn, all of which are significantly ahead of their prior-year benchmarks and signaling strong leasing velocity for the upcoming academic cycle.
At the same time, 28 universities were more than 10% behind last year’s preleasing levels, illustrating the uneven nature of the sector’s momentum. Purdue, Indiana University and the University of Tennessee were cited as examples of campuses that have absorbed substantial new purpose-built student housing supply in recent years. These markets are expected to see additional deliveries, which may continue to influence leasing velocity and competitive dynamics for owners and operators.
While preleasing is running ahead of last year, rent growth has continued the deceleration trend that began in fall 2023. Yardi Matrix reported that student housing rents were down 0.2% year-over-year in January 2026, following 3.7% annual rent growth in January 2025 and 6.5% growth in both January 2023 and January 2024. The data points to a clear cooling in rent gains even as occupancy fundamentals appear comparatively healthy.
On a per-bed basis, average asking rents across the Yardi 200 stood at $915 in January 2026. Rents have remained flat since the start of the current leasing season in October 2025, indicating limited pricing power despite solid preleasing at the national level. As with leasing velocity, rent trends are not uniform, with performance varying by school and fewer markets recording strong rent growth compared with the previous year.
Overall, the latest Yardi Matrix figures suggest that student housing is entering the 2026–2027 leasing cycle with healthy early preleasing but a markedly different rent environment than in the prior three years, as operators balance demand against a wave of new supply in select university markets.
The post Student Housing Preleasing Jumps for 2026–2027 While Rent Growth Slows appeared first on CRE Market Beat.
“}]]
