Investors Are 'Super Cautious' On Student Housing Amid Declining Enrollment

The ongoing disputes between the Trump administration and higher education institutions could have ripple effects on enrollment and student housing. 

The administration attempted to block Harvard University from enrolling international students and has revoked visas from immigrants attending other schools, likely leading many prospective international students to think twice about enrolling in a U.S. college or university.

At schools where international students make up a significant chunk of the student population, the consequences could be significant, especially as universities already face a shrinking population of college-aged students. 

“You really have to be really mindful of these macro-scale politics,” Melissa Soto, California State University, Long Beach capital program development manager, said at Bisnow’s Southern California Student Housing and Higher Education Summit.

“There are very real effects on our campus.” 

Soto said CSULB had a dozen students whose visas were revoked over winter break. The students had flown to their various homes for the break and weren't allowed to return. 

“I would not hang my hat on international students,” Soto said at the event, held at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City.

The number of international students coming to the U.S. declined roughly 11% between March 2024 and March 2025, according to preliminary federal data the Association of American Universities reported in April. In May, survey data from the Association of International Educators showed a 13% dip in postgraduate program enrollment for the upcoming academic year, Marketplace reported.  

The declines come as universities work to recover from the downturn of international enrollment during the pandemic, when many students opted to stay in their home countries rather than travel to the U.S. to take classes virtually.

Cal State Long Beach’s student population saw a postpandemic drop from about 3,300 international students in 2019 to about 1,500 in 2024, according to the CSULB Office of Institutional Research and Analytics.

The overall percentage of international students is relatively low at CSULB. In 2019, it was 8.7% of the student population, and in 2024, it had dropped to 3.8%. But at large state schools and private institutions such as New York University, where those students make up a bigger percentage of the student body — and pay higher tuitions that subsidize scholarships for other students — the impact could be felt widely throughout the campus. 

International students aren’t the only ones whose numbers are dropping in higher education. A “demographic cliff” is projected to hit schools and the country at large as the college-attending population shrinks due to declining birth rates coming home to roost: 2025 is projected to be a peak year for high school graduations

“Equity right now is super cautious,” The Michael’s Organization SVP of Development and Public-Private Partnerships Raoul Amescua said, referring to the likely investors in off-campus student housing. 

The declining number of potential students is causing that caution.

“Equity really only wants to focus where they know there's going to be sort of sustained growth and viability,” Amescua said, adding that he is still seeing interest in powerhouse football schools such as UCLA and USC. 

The latter, he said, is poised to be overbuilt in terms of off-campus housing, and UCLA is such a strong on-campus provider of student housing that it is hard to find opportunities. 

“That doesn't mean you can't find arbitrage in that market,” Amescua said. “I think you can.”

Student housing is, for some schools, less about providing what some might call a college experience and more about helping address critical needs so students can be successful scholastically. All panelists working for higher education institutions said the demand for student housing outpaces the supply, and they said the demand comes from a diverse population. 

About 20% of CSULB students are also parents, Soto said. While many of those students are graduate students, it speaks to the evolving housing needs of students, especially as the general rental housing pool is increasingly expensive. 

“We need [our student housing] to be able to host kids,” Soto said. “We need bathtubs on our campus.”

Compton College, a community college, works to address basic needs such as food and housing insecurity for its mostly Black and Latino student body. It has programs in place to help address these needs, including giving each student a free meal at the school cafeteria each day. 

Keith Curry, president and CEO of the school, said a recent focus group by the Cal State University system of Compton College found that students were worried about transferring out of the college because they were concerned that they wouldn't receive the same support for their basic needs at four-year institutions. 

“The ways that worked in the past don’t work for our students right now,” Curry said.