Colliers South Carolina Student Housing Report: High interest rates, slow enrollment growth moderate student housing market
January 6, 2025
Commercial Real Estate Research & Forecast Report
2024 South Carolina Student Housing
Market Highlights
South Carolina’s student housing market saw privately owned inventory grow to 36,816 beds even as overall enrollment in the state’s public colleges and universities remained flat. Rent growth was strong across the state, driven by demand at Clemson, University of South Carolina – Columbia and College of Charleston in the face of broader national shifts in enrollment trends. 504 new beds delivered, the lowest in over a decade after a recent construction boom fueled by enrollment growth.
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Key Takeaways
- One 504-bed project in Clemson delivered this year
- Overall flat enrollment across the state’s public colleges kept absorption low
- The construction pipeline has rebounded to support growth in Columbia and Clemson
Forecast
3,458 beds remain under construction with three projects totaling 2,533 beds underway in Columbia and two projects totaling 925 beds in the Clemson market. Investment sales centered on newly-stabilized properties, highlighting a challenging interest rate environment that reduced lending activity. Performance is expected to remain strong at research institutions while markets with smaller schools face headwinds.
About Colliers
Colliers | South Carolina is the largest full-service commercial real estate firm in South Carolina, with 66 licensed real estate professionals covering the state with locations in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Spartanburg. Colliers is an Accredited Management Organization (AMO) through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and are the largest manager of commercial real estate properties in South Carolina with a portfolio of over 25 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, and healthcare properties. Colliers’ staff hold the most professional designations of any firm in South Carolina. Colliers | South Carolina’s partner, LCK, provides project management services for new facilities and renovations across South Carolina which currently exceed $1.1 billion in project value.
Colliers (NASDAQ, TSX: CIGI) is a leading diversified professional services and investment management company. With operations in 68 countries, our 22,000 enterprising professionals work collaboratively to provide expert real estate and investment advice to clients. With annual revenues of $4.4 billion and $96 billion of assets under management, Colliers maximizes the potential of property and real assets to accelerate the success of our clients, our investors and our people. Learn more at corporate.colliers.com, X @Colliers or LinkedIn.
