Realtor.com/Lara Becker
It’s back-to-school season, and for college students that means moving into new digs. But while past generations were content with as little as a sleeping bag and a toothbrush, today’s students are outfitting their dorms more like boutique apartments.
“If you are not a parent of a current college student, you cannot possibly understand what the standards have become for these 18- to 21-year-olds,” says Lara Becker, founder of The Dorm Guide, a website and community dedicated to helping families navigate college life.
Those standards—driven by social media and often reinforced by parents—prioritize amenities, style, health, and convenience. And they don’t end with freshman year. As students graduate into off-campus apartments and later into the wider rental market, they bring those elevated expectations with them.
But the timing is tricky. After years of relentless rent growth, asking rents have now logged two years of consecutive declines. With affordability pressures mounting, the question is whether today’s rental market can deliver the kind of lifestyle this generation has grown accustomed to.
The luxury apartment effect
Step off campus at many large universities, and you’ll find apartments that look more like resorts than student housing. Pools with cabanas, coffee bars, golf simulators, movie lounges, and private study rooms are now standard perks in new complexes catering to students.
“His apartment complex is across the street from campus. It has a pool with cabanas, grills, a putting green, even an indoor golf simulator,” Becker says of her son’s housing at Auburn University. “These apartments are so much nicer than anywhere I lived until I was probably 30.”
For developers, the business case is clear: Proximity to campus commands premium rents, and parents footing the bill are willing to pay for convenience and lifestyle. In fact, as much as 50% of parents are currently helping at least one adult child pay their rent.
But the ripple effect goes further. After four years of resort-like student living, graduates are entering the broader rental market with inflated expectations of what “normal” housing should look like.
Many developers have tapped into this phenomenon, building luxury apartment complexes for working professionals that boast amenities that seem over-the-top to outsiders but are a natural extension of what some recent grads are used to. Brooklyn Crossing, for example, offers a rooftop pool, gym, vending machine equipped with a Dyson vacuum, and even an allowance program for residents to host get-togethers for their neighbors.
Likewise, Vestra in Las Vegas boasts walkable luxury in a famously car-oriented region, with a salon, dog park happy hour, and a layout designed for “purposeful collisions” that promise to bring residents together.
Rents are cooling—but still high
After years of breakneck growth, rents have finally begun to cool, according to the latest rental report from Realtor.com®. July 2025 marked the 24th straight month of year-over-year declines, with the median asking rent across the 50 largest metros slipping to $1,712—down 2.5% from a year earlier. Studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms all saw annual drops, continuing a two-year streak of declines not seen since Realtor.com began tracking in 2020.
But the broader picture tells a different story. Even after two years of cooling, rents are still nearly 19% higher than in 2019. A typical one-bedroom now costs $1,590, up $215 from six years ago, while two-bedrooms average $1,898, up $303. Those increases have far outpaced wage growth for many young adults.
Students who spent their college years in luxury dorms and amenity-packed apartments that were bankrolled (in full or in part) by their parents are stepping into a rental market where budgets don’t stretch nearly as far. The result is a widening gap between expectations—curated spaces, convenience, wellness—and financial reality.
It’s a phenomenon that Becker has seen firsthand with her son who is moving to Nashville, TN, for a promotion. Now that he’s spending his own money, she says he’s seeing rental prices with new eyes.
“I think the expectations are still high, the budgets just maybe not quite as high,” she says.
Wellness and social media as market drivers
Beyond aesthetics, today’s dorm trends reflect a deeper shift toward health and wellness. Parents and students alike are investing in non-toxic bedding, mattress toppers certified to be free of harmful chemicals, and portable air purifiers to combat mold and allergens.
“College is expensive. Parents want their kids to sleep well, stay healthy, and go to class,” Becker explains.
That health-conscious mindset doesn’t end with college. As these students move into the broader rental market, their expectations extend to environmental safety, air quality, and overall wellness—features that many landlords don’t yet highlight but could increasingly become selling points.
At the same time, social media has turned living spaces into a form of personal branding. From Instagram-ready dorm rooms to TikTok tours of “aesthetic” apartments, homes are now judged as much on their shareability as their livability. “The dorm room just goes along with it,” Becker says. “It’s not just dorms. … It’s just in everything that kids are doing today.”
That means birthday parties, graduations, apartments—everything needs to be ready for the online treatment.
The task ahead
The next generation of renters is entering the market with high and new standards shaped by luxury dorms, resort-style student housing, and a culture of curated living. But those expectations are colliding with a rental landscape where affordability remains a challenge, even after two years of cooling prices.
For landlords, the task ahead is finding balance. Not every property can offer rooftop pools or golf simulators, but highlighting wellness, smart design, and well-planned common spaces may resonate with this new wave of renters. Features like improved air quality, multipurpose community areas, or stylish but affordable finishes can help bridge the gap between elevated expectations and budget realities.
In a market defined by both financial constraints and lifestyle demands, the winners may be the properties that manage to feel aspirational without breaking the bank.