News & Insights

On-Campus Demand

Students may be eager to return to campus and the classroom, but does this sentiment extend to on-campus student housing facilities?

“While students lived on campus during the pandemic, there were many restrictions related to how they engaged with others—lounges were closed, in-person dining was restricted, many did not have roommates, building programs were moved online, et-cetera,” Sealine notes. “This has directly impacted the student’s perception of the college experience and will take some time for us to return to a pre-pandemic structure for community building.”

Ryan Jensen, a director and co-leader of the Midwest Higher Education practice group at Brailsford & Dunlavey in Chicago, believes the on-campus restrictions and housing closures may impact demand in the short-term.

“Off-campus student-oriented properties—especially those well positioned around Power Five schools—have seen stable occupancy and rent collections as students were allowed to remain, and in some cases, were unable to break their leases during the pandemic,” he says. “We’d expect that short-term, off-campus housing will benefit because, in our experience, once people move off, they do not move back on.”

This is an excerpt from an article originally published by Student Housing Business. Read the full piece here.