Student Housing Pre-Leasing Finishes Near Record Highs for Fall 2026

The Fall 2026 student housing pre-leasing season ended as one of the strongest on record.

As of August, a notable 95.9% of U.S. student housing beds across the U.S. were leased for the Fall 2026 semester, according to data from Realpage Market Analytics. This was one of the strongest end-of-the-season readings the market has seen in a decade, beat out only by the record of 96.5% posted in Fall 2025. In the past decade, pre-leasing has averaged 93% in August and hit the 95% mark only one additional time, in Fall 2022.

(Among the core 175 universities tracked by Realpage, 96% were leased in August 2026.)

The August pre-lease rate was 490 basis points (bps) ahead of the July level but remained 60 bps behind the record showing from one year ago. Although leasing velocity moderated slightly in the final three months of the season, August’s increase remained generally in line with historical seasonal patterns.

The market has now outperformed long-term averages for six consecutive months, allowing Fall 2026 leasing to overcome the early-season lag recorded during the first half of the cycle.

Properties located closest to campus continued to hold a modest advantage in August, though all distance categories are ahead of the essentially full 95%-mark. Communities located within a half mile of campus reached 96.1% pre-leased in August, while properties between a half mile and one mile from campus were 95.6% pre-leased. Communities located more than one mile from campus recorded 95.4% pre-leased in August. The limited variation in occupancy by distance indicates that student demand was broad enough to support leasing performance across a wide range of locations, not just communities closest to campus.

For more information on the state of the student housing industry, read previous posts on Student Housing and watch the upcoming webcast Market Intelligence: Student Housing Fall Update.