WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — As college and university enrollments have grown almost 40 percent in the past decade, squeezing schools’ supply of on-campus housing, demand for private, off-campus student housing options is growing. Responding to that trend, the National Student Housing Council (NSHC) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) today released their 2012 Off-Campus Student Housing Income and Expense Benchmarking Survey. The only such survey specifically targeting the off-campus student housing sector, it includes data on 370 properties from 25 companies in 46 states.
Key findings include:
- As found in previous studies, off-campus student housing properties are continuing to lease predominantly “by-the-bed,” with every student in an apartment responsible for his or her own lease. Properties in this survey that leased by-the-bed reported earning less per bed in rental income and spending larger percentages of their rental income on operating expenses than properties that lease by-the-unit, but this may be due to product mix (by-the-unit properties typically have two or more beds per unit). It is interesting to note that prior studies have shown that on a per property basis, more income is derived at properties that rent by-the-bed.
- Late-fee income varies tremendously by property. For example, late-fee income ranged from $13.41 to $110.61 per bed for mid- to high-rise properties that leased by-the-bed. However, for garden-style properties that leased by-the-unit, late-fee income ranged from $22.26 to $114.26 per bed. A property’s location also factored into the late-fee income averages.
Data is provided by type of leasing structure; the report also breaks out the data results by property age, property type, property size and ownership/management structure. In addition to the general results, which provide the full aggregate data for all 46 states, the survey includes select regional results and state-level data for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
The survey report is given complimentary to all attendees at the upcoming NMHC Student Housing Conference & Exposition, October 1-2 at the Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Ariz. Conference registration information is available at: http://www.nmhc.org/goto/SHC12reg.
It is also available for purchase by both NMHC and NAA members ($750) and nonmembers ($1,500). NMHC also offers a student housing research package, which gives purchasers access to all of the NMHC and NSHC annual student housing research reports. NMHC and NAA members pay $1,700 and nonmembers pay $2,500 for the package.
Sample tables showcasing the report’s percent of rental income and dollars per bed analysis are below:
| Expenses as a Percent of Rental Income Properties Built 2006-Present in Midwest Region | ||||
| 10th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Average | |
| Rental Income | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Total Operating Expenses | 34.2% | 57.1% | 71.5% | 54.5% |
| Total Compensation | 6.2% | 10.8% | 18.8% | 12.1% |
| Maintenance and Repairs | 3.1% | 4.3% | 9.4% | 5.0% |
| Taxes | 2.5% | 7.6% | 21.5% | 9.9% |
| Insurance | 0.7% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 1.3% |
| Marketing | 0.8% | 2.1% | 4.5% | 2.2% |
| Turnover | 0.4% | 1.7% | 2.9% | 1.6% |
| Utilities | 4.3% | 9.0% | 18.2% | 10.2% |
| Late-Fee Income | 0.1% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 0.8% |
Note: Figures are a percent of net rent and do not include other income in the denominator. (n=18)
| Expenses Shown in Dollars Per Bed Properties Leased By-the-Unit in the South Region | ||||
| 10th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Average | |
| Rental Income | $4,699.45 | $6,552.85 | $7,780.95 | $6,198.51 |
| Total Operating Expenses | $2,425.97 | $3,015.12 | $4,244.26 | $3,102.01 |
| Total Compensation | $520.54 | $636.22 | $956.32 | $697.56 |
| Maintenance and Repairs | $129.90 | $242.37 | $433.23 | $252.41 |
| Taxes | $296.14 | $534.44 | $748.96 | $532.04 |
| Insurance | $95.55 | $121.69 | $180.70 | $133.25 |
| Marketing | $106.54 | $154.32 | $281.21 | $173.21 |
| Turnover | $149.88 | $195.39 | $313.31 | $210.10 |
| Utilities | $133.09 | $359.49 | $659.57 | $386.32 |
| Late-Fee Income | $24.45 | $54.78 | $107.33 | $51.55 |
Note: Figures are per bed. (n=35)
For more student housing information or resources, please visit www.nmhc.org/goto/studenthousing.
NSHC is a subsidiary of NMHC.
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NSHC was formed in 2011, nine years after NMHC launched the first-ever student housing conference, and serves to encourage information exchange and conduct research to help inform the investment decisions and best practices off-campus student housing developers. Based in Washington, D.C., NMHC is a national association representing the interests of the largest and most prominent apartment firms in the U.S. For more information, contact NSHC at 202/974-2300, e-mail ">
Contact:
Jim Lapides, 202/974-2360, 
