University of Tennessee student housing rent soared in Knoxville this year, here’s where it ranks nationally

It’s no secret that Knoxville has been in a housing crunch that extends from home sales to the rental market. That includes an expanded need for student housing, as enrollment increases at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

While developers have been racing to build entire blocks of student housing, those facilities are still several years away. In the meantime, the situation has grown ever more dire for students looking to find a place to live.

Apartment rent growth as a whole accelerated for the second consecutive month in October, with rents across the Knoxville metropolitan area increasing by 4.14% from the previous year compared to 0.09% nationally.

But housing for students became even more expensive, a release from East Tennessee Realtors said.

Rental costs for student housing increased nearly 16% from 2023

Rent growth in student housing hit record highs across the U.S. over the last year − and Knoxville was no exception. As of September − the final month of the fall 2023 pre-lease season − rent for student housing in Knoxville rose 15.9%, according to RealPage Market Analytics. This figure amounted to the 11th fastest year-over-year rent growth nationally and the second fastest among southeastern universities.

The especially large rent increases among housing specifically for students can be attributed to robust enrollment growth at the University of Tennessee, which created a sizable gap between supply and demand as evidenced by 100% occupancy rate for this fall.

Across the core 175 universities tracked by RealPage, rent growth in student housing has hit record highs over the last year. As of September, annual rent growth hit 9%.

At some schools, however, that rate was considerably higher. Arizona State University claimed the top spot in the nation for student housing rent growth in the year ending September 2023, posting a 24.5% increase. Rent growth at the University of Arkansas and the University of New Mexico nearly hit 20%.

Several quintessential college towns including Knoxville appear on this list, such as Asheville (University of North Carolina) and West Lafayette (Purdue), which helps underscore the fact that college towns are very attractive student housing markets.

Don’t expect to see these types of increases next year, however. Much like the conventional market correcting sharply over the last year, RealPage expects student housing rent growth to cool in the fall 2024 pre-lease season. 

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.