Despite a last-minute push in August, student housing pre-leasing has fallen behind levels in the past two years, although they continue to exceed pre-COVID norms. August marks the final month of pre-lease season in the student housing market.

Roughly 92.8% of beds at the core 175 universities tracked by RealPage were leased for the Fall 2024 semester, compared with 94.4% last year and 95.6% in 2022. The August showing was a significant improvement over July's pace, according to RealPage's most recent student housing update. This is notable as momentum typically slows in August as the leasing season wraps up. About 4.4% of student housing beds were leased between July and August for the Fall 2024 leasing season, a period where leasing typically falls below 4% as fewer beds are available to lease.

Properties within half a mile to one mile of campus had the tightest pre-lease occupancy of 92.9% as of August, while properties further from the grounds were 92.8% occupied. Properties within half a mile of campus had the lowest pre-lease occupancy of 92.7%, as of August, which is still historically strong, said RealPage.