Student Housing Unlocked: What Defines the Sector in 2026?

March 17, 2026

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In this conversation with MHN’s Olivia Bunescu, Harrison Street's Beau Garot discusses enrollment shifts, precision underwriting and other key fundamentals shaping the sector.

Student housing’s fundamentals are as familiar as ever: high occupancy, steady demand, a pipeline that’s still selective, but the real story in 2026 is where the wins are concentrating and how investors are underwriting them. Harrison Street Asset Management, one of the largest owners in the sector, is leaning into that shift with strategic moves and fresh momentum.

Since the beginning of the year, the company teamed up with LV Collective for the development of Rambler, a 247-unit, 862-bed community near Virginia Tech and Rambler Clemson, another 749-bed project, marking their entrance into the Clemson University market. These moves in the sector reflect the firm’s focus on Power 4 institutions and its pull toward markets with strong fundamentals.

In this episode of Student Housing Unlocked, Senior Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu is joined by Beau Garot, co-head of education transactions in North America at Harrison Street Asset Management, to unpack what that activity says about the market right now. They also touch on why flagships remain the focus, the redefinition of affordability and what precision looks like as debt gets more attractive and competition returns.

READ ALSO: Trends in Student Housing

Here’s what they discussed: