Wendy Broffman

Softening apartment demand has translated into rent cuts, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. After four consecutive months of mild decline, occupancy fell to 94.8 percent last month, down 10 basis points from October and 70 basis points over the past four months. Year-over-year, occupancy declined 10 basis points, marking the first annual drop since August 2024. In response, effective asking rents fell 0.4 percent in November, bringing the year-over-year decline to 0.7 percent.

The fall 2025 semester demonstrated the resilience of the U.S. student housing sector, with strong enrollment growth across most institutions and high occupancy rates sustaining investor confidence. According to Yardi Matrix, 157 of the top 200 schools recorded 1.9 percent enrollment growth, marking the second-highest increase in the past decade. This expansion comes despite looming headwinds like a projected decline in high school graduates and potential reductions in university funding.

Here’s another one to file under ‘unintended consequences.’ Rent control policies designed to protect tenants are increasingly straining the very buildings meant to house them. Rent-stabilized properties from New York to Seattle are struggling to cover rising costs, widening the performance gap with market-rate apartments, according to analysis from Trepp. Delinquency patterns, property sales and NOI spreads tell the story.