The purpose-built student housing segment has been a steady winner for many developers for years, faring well even in recessionary and down periods. Students needed a place to live and didn't always want to reside on campus, especially after freshman year. These off-campus dwellings long offered a robust list of attractive amenities seen in conventional multifamily housing, as well as comfortable apartment layouts with living and sleeping space typically furnished. Students leased by a "bed" rather than a room.

Now that students have been returning each semester to colleges and universities post the pandemic, this asset class continues to attract a steady stream of residents. And a definite sign of this segment's very healthy state and strong occupancy numbers is that it is outperforming conventional multifamily housing for the first time in a non-contractionary period, according to RealPage Market Analytics. 

In fact, the student category's rent growth prices are rising at a faster clip than those that fall under the conventional multifamily housing umbrella. In the past, while purpose-built student housing's numbers were steady and reliable, its rent growth consistently underperformed the conventional multifamily options.