Norman, OK, University of Oklahoma
Norman
- Verdict
- Selective
- Rank
- 2/3
- Score
- 81/100
Why be selective in Norman?
Occupancy recovered to 95.6% and rent grew +6.4%, but average rent of $785/bed/mo caps what new construction can earn.
- Occupancy
- 95.6%
- +3.0 ptsYoY
- Same-store rent
- +6.4%
- +2.4 ptsYoY
- Rent CAGR, 2 yr
- 4.8%
- n = 14 properties
- Avg asking rent
- $785/bed/mo
- +6.7%YoY
- Median rent
- $733/bed/mo
- p75 $856
- Beds below 90%
- 9.7%
- −20.0 ptsYoY
Trend
Occupancy held near 96% while same-store rent compounded 4.8% a year
Stabilized occupancy
Same-store asking rent, $/bed/mo
Property occupancy
9.7% of Norman's operating beds sit below 90% occupied
Each dot is one operating property in Oct-26; area is beds. Filled dots are below 90% (one property). Pre-delivery buildings are excluded.
Pipeline and lease-ups
No pre-delivery beds in the comp file; 756 beds are announced for fall 2028
| Property | Beds | Delivery | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbane student housing near OU | 756 | Fall 2028 | Press report |
Comp-file pipeline = rows at 0% occupancy with an asking rent, i.e. pre-delivery (pre-leasing for fall 2027).
No lease-ups to learn from in this market
Every property in the comp file was already operating in Oct-24.
Lease-up = 0% in one snapshot, occupied in the next. Rent vs market compares asking rent with that year's bed-weighted market average.
Outside the comp file
- Enrollment, fall 2026
- 33,638students
+3.0% from 32,662 in fall 2025. OU Institutional Research, Fall 2026 enrollment summary
OU enrolled a record Class of 2030 of 6,437 students, its sixth straight record freshman class.
First-year students must live on campus, so record freshman classes reach off-campus beds one year later.
Gilbane reached financial close on a 756-bed purpose-built community near campus.
What would change my mind
- A second large project breaks ground for fall 2028 on top of Gilbane's 756 beds.
- OU's freshman class shrinks, which breaks the on-campus-first feeder into off-campus demand.
- Occupancy at Norman's sub-93% assets keeps falling while their rents still rise, which would point to a split market rather than broad pricing power.