The student housing sector continues to prove its resilience in 2025, even as broader real estate markets face ongoing uncertainty. According to the latest national reports, preleasing activity and occupancy remain strong across top universities, though rent growth is beginning to moderate compared to the historic surges seen over the past three years.
Nationally, average occupancy rates are holding steady above 90%, with preleasing pacing in the mid-80s percentile across the top 200 universities. Rent growth, while still positive, has cooled to the low single digits YoY — reflecting a natural leveling after several years of rapid increases. Even with this moderation, demand fundamentals remain intact, fueled by stable enrollment at major universities and limited new supply entering the market.
Centurion’s Portfolio Performance
Against this national backdrop, Centurion’s portfolio continues to outperform market averages:
-
Preleasing: 93.68%
-
Occupancy: 91.90%
-
Rent Growth (2024–2025): 6.63%
-
Rent Growth (2025–2026): 5.41%
These results highlight both the strength of our targeted acquisition strategy and the effectiveness of our operational execution. By focusing on large, stable university markets with limited new supply pipelines, Centurion has been able to consistently capture higher occupancy and stronger rent growth than the national benchmarks.
Why This Matters
The comparison underscores what we’ve seen time and again: student housing remains one of the most resilient asset classes in real estate. While sectors such as office continue to face challenges and even multifamily has begun to show signs of softening in certain metros, student housing fundamentals remain robust.
For investors, this means the sector continues to provide both income stability and long-term growth potential. Centurion is proud that our portfolio performance not only reflects national trends, but in many cases outpaces them, reinforcing our commitment to disciplined growth and investor value.
