Philadelphia students scramble to secure housing for the new school year

By Brenda Nguyen CoStar Analytics

As a new school year begins across the nation, many college students in Philadelphia are scrambling to secure housing just weeks before classes start. Following a slow summer pre-leasing season for student housing, a rush of leasing activity emerged over the past month.

Student housing properties, as defined by CoStar, are those that are purposefully built or operated for students, regardless of whether the property is managed by universities or private entities. They typically feature lease terms aligned with the academic year, proximity to campus, furnished units, and amenities tailored for students, such as game rooms and study lounges. CoStar’s pre-leasing data tracks the percentage of leased beds before the first of each September.

In early August, Philadelphia’s pre-leasing rate for student housing reached only 82%, significantly lower than the 91% recorded during the same month last year. By September, leasing rates jumped to 97.1%, an impressive increase of over 15 percentage points month-over-month. This figure even surpasses last September’s pre-leasing rate of 94.7%.

Representatives from local campuses, such as Temple University, report that parents are increasingly active in the housing process, displaying increased price sensitivity and putting off signing lease agreements.

Additionally, technical difficulties with FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education’s financial aid form, earlier this year prolonged school selection decisions for one million students nationwide, further affecting summer pre-lease rates.

While delaying housing decisions is not always the safest or least expensive choice, it has worked in favor of students in the current market cycle, particularly in urban areas within Greater Center City, where concessions for market-rate apartments are plentiful.

Despite the challenges of the summer, the recent surge in leasing activity indicates that student housing performance remains strong. Rental rates for student housing continue to outpace those of market-rate apartments, even in urban areas where concessions are plentiful.

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