ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor added more than 1,200 beds in off-campus student housing going into the 2018-19 academic year, and there's no sign of slowing demand.

The occupancy rate for off-campus housing for University of Michigan students was 98.3 percent this fall, compared to the national average of 95.2 percent occupancy for off-campus student housing, according to a new report from Triad Real Estate Partners.

Ann Arbor's student housing occupancy rate has exceeded 98 percent since 2014.

UM continues to grow enrollment, and about two-thirds of upperclassmen live off campus, according to Triad.

"There have been 2,406 beds added to the market in the last five years. ... But we gained 3,006 students. You can kind of do the math pretty quickly there and see that the student housing market hasn't really kept up with demand," said Ryan Tobias, a partner at Triad.

While 2018 brought the largest student housing boom in a single year in UM history, Tobias said, other college towns across the country have grown their student housing stock more quickly.

For example, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne saw an increase of 4,546 off-campus student beds from 2012 to 2017, according to Triad.

"I think there's a misconception that Ann Arbor has seen this incredible wave in development. But the reality is that (compared to) the national landscape, it's been relatively light," Tobias said.

Other college towns see student housing developments in remote areas on the edge of the city, as well as in the areas immediately near campus, he said, but Ann Arbor has largely concentrated its recently-built student housing in mid-rise and high-rise buildings within walking distance to UM.

The Yard apartments on South Main Street pressed the boundary of what's typically considered the student housing area of Ann Arbor, Tobias added.

About 40 percent of The Yard's tenants this fall are not students, architect J. Bradley Moore previously told The Ann Arbor News.

The Yard, with 588 beds, was one of three apartment buildings that accounted for the new student housing available for the 2018-19 academic year. Six11 on East University Avenue added 349 beds, and Hub Ann Arbor on East Huron Street added 310 beds.

"I think this year was somewhat of an anomaly with three projects opening all at once," Tobias said.

Rent for off-campus student housing rose by 4.64 percent this year compared to last year, according to Triad, which is largely due to new "luxury" apartment complexes that welcomed their first residents this fall.

When comparing previously existing student housing last fall to this fall, rent increased by 1.81 percent.