In the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the move toward online education created some headwinds for investors in student accommodation. But fundamentals in the student housing sector have strengthened remarkably.

“With leasing velocity exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 6.5 percent, rent growth averaging 5.7 percent, new deliveries down and enrollment recovering from the impact of COVID, the fundamentals of student housing are stronger than they have ever been,” says Kevin Larimer, senior managing director at Berkadia Student Housing. “Competition for high-quality student housing communities at brand recognized universities will be robust, and investors will start to spread out to fundamentally solid secondary and tertiary markets to meet capital’s demand for assets.”

As the quarterly National Student Housing Report from Yardi Matrix noted, much of the enrollment decline has been among community colleges and smaller universities. Competitive pr