Supply of and demand for new student housing looks to remain strong in most markets in 2017, according to a new report by Axiometrics and AppFolio. Axiometrics predicts about 45,700 beds will come online for fall 2017, just below the 47,800 beds that were slated for delivery this fall.
Leasing for student housing beds this fall was slower than in 2015, but the balance of supply and demand is good in most markets. Slower leasing this year was tied more to increased rents than to oversupply in most markets, Axiometrics’ Taylor Gunn tells National Real Estate Investor.
At the end of this year’s pre-leasing season, the average occupancy for student housing was in the mid-90 percent range, according to Axiometrics data.
In 2017, three university markets are forecast to introduce the most new student housing construction, each with more than 1,000 new beds: Texas A&M University, the University of Florida and Baylor University.