Berkadia’s 2025 U.S. Student Housing Market Report is now available. We analyze the impact of 2024’s capital market disruptions on student housing transactions and highlight the sector’s strong fundamentals. We also address the imbalance between the development pipeline, rising enrollments at top universities, and the growing 18- to 21-year-old population in major metro areas.

Key Takeaways

• Core student housing assets located within 0.5 miles of universities transacted at nearly $120,000 per bed in 2024, highlighting their high value.

• The average price per bed for purpose-built student housing has risen by 41.5% since 2019, reaching $102,157, indicating a robust investment trend.

• The cap rate gap between student housing and market-rate multifamily properties is narrowing, with student housing averaging a 5.7% cap rate in 2024, making it an increasingly attractive investment.

• Projected five-year population growth of over 215,000 among 18- to 22-year-olds in top metro areas supports continued demand for student housing, with Houston, Pasadena, and The Woodlands, Texas, leading with 24,555 projected growth.