Successful Move-ins for HU
This year's lease-up was one of our most challenging to date, with so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, how universities would respond and whether students would return to campus or stay online.
Leasing momentum lagged early on compared to our pre-pandemic numbers, and with all markets in some sort of hybrid state our physical traffic and ability to market on-campus was non-existent. But our onsite teams never gave up and never lost focus. We stayed nimble with our strategy and pivoted often to ensure we were pacing in line or ahead of our competitors. As markets began to open back up, we were ready to execute; it was so awesome to watch properties lagging 50+ leases behind catch up and exceed their goal in a matter of weeks.
From a turn standpoint, the proactiveness in planning and executing early paid off, and this was one of the quieter move-ins to date; out of 6,831 residents, we fielded no more than 20 customer service calls at the home office. Thank you to our onsite teams for taking great care of our residents during what can be a stressful and chaotic time, and for your leadership and commitment to our mission statement of providing the best resident life experience possible!
I am so proud of the grit and resilience our teams have demonstrated this past year and a half. We are preleased at 94% as of today, with 10 out of our 13 properties at or above their 2021/2022 occupancy goal, and we will continue to push throughout this month. With the new academic year underway, I am looking forward to kicking off the 22/23 leasing season and making it our best year yet. Thanks to each one of you, let's go team HU!