Much like the rest of the world, the student housing sector has been greatly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 

outbreak. Before many of the stay-at-home orders were issued around the country, many colleges and universities had 

begun to close their doors to students. Early spring is a time where many schools and universities are on spring break 

for the semester. In an effort to get ahead of the outbreak, many schools told students not to return and instead 

pivoted to distance (online) learning to complete the semester. 

The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to affect the student housing sector, in both the immediate and long-term future. 

There has been much speculation about how the student housing sector might mitigate the impacts of the outbreak 

for the upcoming Fall 2020 semester. As more information has been discovered about the virus, it appears that offcampus student housing might fare better in COVID-19 mitigation than on-campus student housing. As more 

universities announce plans for the upcoming semester, off-campus student housing is expected to be better equipped 

in responding quickly to whatever learning model the schools decide to utilize. 

A Variety of Learning Plans for the Upcoming Semester

Since almost all colleges and universities pivoted to distance learning throughout March 2020, there are questions as to 

how those same institutions will operate for the upcoming Fall 2020 semester. The Chronicle of Higher Education, a 

Washington, D.C.-based publication that focuses on the higher education sector, has been monitoring the Fall 2020 

learning plan announcements of many colleges and universities. Currently, more than 890 colleges and universities 

have announced their intentions for the upcoming school year, with approximately 68 percent announcing they will be 

offering in-person learning. The details of in-person learning vary, with some proposals including classes that are 

socially distanced; students agreeing to temperature checks; contact tracing being implemented; and most 

importantly, a truncated semester, beginning in early August and ending by Thanksgiving with no fall break. Likewise, 

the details of hybrid and various scenarios are not fully known but include elements of in-person and distance learning. 

There have also been discussions of having certain groups of students (e.g., upper/lower classmen) on campus at 

different times to mitigate the risk of the virus. More concrete details of these plans remain unknown.

Furthermore, there appears to be some overlap from some of the schools that have announced their intentions as 

other than simply holding in-person classes. For example, both the various scenarios and hybrid models, as highlighted 

in the above pie chart, are very similar since they include holding both in-person classes and online/distance learning. 

As more schools continue to announce their intentions for the upcoming semester, it is likely that some schools that 

previously issued announcements about their learning plans might amend their decision. The University of California 

state school system, which is the largest state school system in the U.S., announced that they would only be offering 

online/distance learning in the fall. However, they are now an outlier, as several other big state school systems have 

announced intentions to offer in-person classes this fall. 

1 © 2020 Fannie Mae

Multifamily Economic and Market Commentary

June 2020

Spring 2020 Student Housing Update

68%

9%

8%

7% 7%

In-Person Various Scenarios Hybrid Undecided Online

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Fall 2020 Learning Plans for Colleges
© 2020 Fannie Mae 2

Spring 2020 Student Housing Update

Source: Axiometrics, a RealPage Company

*Note 2020* deliveries are not yet finalized, these totals are “underway” as of Q120 

Limited Impact on Supply Expected

Every year, the amount of new supply is at the forefront of the student housing sector and this year it is even more so. 

The COVID-19 outbreak closed many colleges and universities around the country, and many of these institutions 

furloughed or laid off employees as operations came to a halt. New construction is considered an essential business in 

many states, and in fact, thirty-nine states (including Washington, D.C.) did not halt construction work during the stayat-home orders. Construction in New York, New Jersey, and Michigan was deemed non-essential and the remaining 

states did not issue orders regarding construction but implemented localized restrictions.

With construction not being impacted in most areas around the country, it appears that all completing supply should 

deliver on time for the upcoming school year. Off-campus housing is estimated to deliver approximately 48,000 beds 

this fall, while on-campus housing is expected to deliver approximately 35,000 beds. Indeed, on-campus housing 

deliveries appear to be much closer to the volume of off-campus housing deliveries, as seen in the chart below. Year 

over year, off-campus housing deliveries are expected to increase 4.3 percent, whereas on-campus deliveries are 

expected to increase nearly 46 percent. 

Student Housing Deliveries – through Fall 2020

The Outbreak’s Impact on Enrollments

College enrollments have been decreasing for seven years and early 2020 returns indicate that they are still in decline. 

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Spring 2020 enrollments were down approximately 

0.5 percent pre-COVID-19. Although this was a +1.2 percent increase, year-over-year, it is a bit misleading. Since the 

emergence of COVID-19 in the US, colleges and universities have had to face some harsh realities regarding enrollments 

for the upcoming Fall 2020-Spring 2021 school year. The biggest and most immediate impact is the decline in 

international student enrollments. 

According to the Institute of International Education, during the 2017-2018 school year international student 

enrollment in U.S. institutions of higher learning was approximately 891,000 students. In the 2018-2019 school year, 

that number decreased to 872,000 students. As a result of the global impact of COVID-19 and many of the travel 

restrictions that have emerged as a result of outbreak, many international students who left U.S. colleges and 

universities in March 2020 may not be able to return. Furthermore, international students who hoped to begin their 

college career in the U.S. may have to look elsewhere, as they are also impacted by travel restrictions. To try to mitigate 

the loss of international students, many colleges and universities altered their enrollment requirements for the 

upcoming school year. Some schools have eliminated standardized testing (ACT/SAT) requirements, and some schools 

are granting enrollment to a wider range of candidates that might have previously been waitlisted. 

59,000 62,000 48,000 47,000 46,000 43,000 46,000 48,000

23,000 14,000

11,000 10,000 15,000 11,000

24,000

35,000

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

Off-Campus On-Campus
© 2020 Fannie Mae 3

Spring 2020 Student Housing Update

Student Housing Fundamentals During COVID-19

One positive aspect of the student housing sector is the resiliency and flexibility of the off-campus sector. Unlike oncampus housing, which is suffering from full university closures resulting in a mass exodus of students, off-campus 

student housing properties are still open and operating. Since off-campus student housing properties are not technically 

affiliated with the universities they serve, the residents who occupy these properties did not have to evacuate once 

nearby schools announced their pivot to distance learning. The performance of fundamentals at the off-campus student 

housing properties are on par with pre-outbreak levels. 

For instance, Axiometrics Inc., a RealPage Company, has reported that as of April 2020 pre-lease numbers were at 

approximately 64.8 percent for the upcoming Fall 2020 school year. Year over year, the pre-lease numbers were down only 

about 0.80 percent, compared to 65.6 percent in April 2019. The significance of the pre-lease numbers being in line with 

pre-outbreak levels suggests that prospective students/residents appear more willing to occupy off-campus dwellings, 

perhaps because it is much easier to maintain social distancing requirements, if needed. Off-campus student housing 

properties, much like conventional multifamily apartments, do not share common areas or restrooms with large numbers 

of people, thereby lessening the likelihood of spreading the virus. Furthermore, in the event that schools needed to 

suddenly close again, off-campus housing properties allow students to maintain some semblance of a more typical 

college experience surrounded by other students, instead of having to attend online classes from their parents’ houses, 

for example. 

Although occupancy levels have decreased compared to pre-outbreak levels, off-campus student housing properties are 

still occupied by residents as they continue to pay rent. Commercial real-estate services firm Berkadia has been 

conducting monthly surveys regarding the fundamentals of the off-campus student housing sector. In April 2020 

approximately 70.5 percent of the 720,000 beds surveyed were occupied; in May 2020, occupancy levels were at 71.2 

percent of the 827,000 beds surveyed. 

Lastly, rent collections are also on par with 2019 levels. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has been 

tracking conventional multifamily rent payment activity during the outbreak. For the months of April 2020 and May 2020 

rent payments were made by approximately 94.6 percent and 95.1 percent of renters, respectively. In regard to student 

housing payments, property management software company Entrata tracked that rents in April 2020 and May 2020 were 

made by approximately 93.1 percent and 91 percent of student housing renters, respectively. 

Pre-Lease % for Off-Campus Student Housing 

Properties in April & May

54

56

58

60

62

64

66

68

70

72

% Pre-Lease

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

Apr-20 May-20

% of Rent Collections

Conventional

Off-Campus Student Housing

% of Conventional and Off-Campus Student 

Housing Rents Collected from Renters in April & 

May

Source: Axiometrics, a RealPage Company

Sources NMHC & Entrata Inc.
© 2020 Fannie Mae 4

Spring 2020 Student Housing Update

Pre-Lease Performance Holding Up

Even though pre-lease performance for off-campus student housing properties is down slightly year over year, there are 

properties that are performing quite well despite the outbreak, including some that have pre-lease performance (as of 

May 2020) at above 75 percent. Considering that the COVID-19 outbreak is continuing throughout the country, it is 

heartening to see that some student housing properties are continuing to attract students to their residences. 

It is worth noting that most of the schools listed below have announced that they plan on in-person learning at some 

capacity. Virginia Tech University, which has announced that it will be opening with a hybrid model (which includes inperson classes) this upcoming semester, had nearby off-campus student housing properties with a pre-lease 

performance of 98.7 percent, as of May 2020. The University of Pittsburgh, which also announced its intention to hold inperson classes at its nearby off-campus student housing properties, boasts a pre-lease performance rate of 98.1 percent. 

Lastly, Appalachian State University, with nearby off-campus properties showing pre-lease performance of 94.9 percent, 

will be open for in-person learning this upcoming semester. 

A New Reality for Student Housing

Much like the rest of the multifamily sector, the student housing sector is learning to adapt to the COVID-19 outbreak on 

the fly. Due to the large social aspect of the college experience, we believe it’s unlikely that colleges and universities will 

only offer distance learning during the outbreak, as well as in any future outbreaks. As a result of the current outbreak, 

many schools may have to expedite changes that would otherwise still be on the back burner. The on-campus student 

housing sector, in particular, has a number of obstacles to overcome. The current model of packing students into small 

spaces with shared amenities and facilities is not beneficial during this outbreak and will likely not be in future 

outbreaks. 

However, the shortcomings of the on-campus student housing sector highlight the best qualities of the off-campus 

student housing sector. The off-campus student housing sector offers residents a social experience in which they can 

also practice social distancing in, since amenities are less shared than on-campus dormitories. We believe off-campus 

properties have maintained some normalcy, evidenced by the better-than-expected performance of their fundamentals, 

which have remained in-line with 2019 levels. As more colleges and universities update their learning plans for the 

upcoming school year, off-campus properties could become even more attractive to prospective residents.

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00% 120.00%

Virginia Tech

University of Pitt

Appalachian State

Colorado - Boulder

University of Wisconsin

Clemson

Indiana

Michigan

UNC

Schools Pre-Lease Performance >75% As of May 2020

Source: Axiometrics, a RealPage Company
Spring 2020 Student Housing Update

© 2020 Fannie Mae 5

Francisco Nicco-Annan

Multifamily Economist

Multifamily Economics and Research

June 10, 2020

Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views of Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Economics and Research Group (MRG) included in these materials

should not be construed as indicating Fannie Mae’s business prospects or expected results, are based on a number of assumptions, and are subject to

change without notice. How this information affects Fannie Mae will depend on many factors. Although the MRG bases its opinions, analyses, estimates,

forecasts, and other views on information it considers reliable, it does not guarantee that the information provided in these materials is accurate,

current, or suitable for any particular purpose. Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these views could produce materially

different results. The analyses, opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views published by the MRG represent the views of that group as of the date

indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae or its management.