Dive Brief:

• Developers built 23% less student housing on and around universities last year than in 2013, and that number will dip further this year, according to apartment industry research organization Axiometrics.

• High construction costs and a scarcity of land are tempering the pace of student housing development, even though demand for it remains strong, the study said.

• Despite the slip in construction, this year will “still be a huge year” for student housing, as the 48,000 new student housing beds in the works are more than builders finished during the industry’s 2008 peak, when room for 45,000 students opened up.

Dive Insight:

Students are rushing to sign leases in new housing complexes, even though their rents are, on average, $173 a month higher than in existing buildings. The reason: more bells and whistles.

“Students are responding really well to this higher-priced, highly amenitized product,” according to Taylor Gunn, a student housing research analyst for Axiometrics.