Commercial real estate has certainly come up against strong headwinds in the last couple of weeks. The announcement of the new government's mini-budget caused a run on sterling, which in turn applied further inflationary pressures on the markets, sparking an expectation of accelerated interest rate hikes...financial market turmoil indeed, and that's against a backdrop of rising energy prices and supply chain costs. How would the student sector fare in comparison to other real estate sectors? That was one of the main questions explored during two panel discussions at The UK Student Housing Round Up (by Bisnow). Mike Phillips' excellent write up is linked below, but here were my additional take away points:

• How to manage the impact of the rising cost of living on net operating income? The key is in educating the end users and enabling them to manage their personal impact on costs.
• How are PBSA buildings adapting? Flexibility is vital - think of 5 year plans for the "connection spaces"; and focus on people and community is paramount.
• What do students really want? Affordability remains key, but this can be accommodated in more creative ways. Students also have a strong voice on ESG matters, and want to be heard. The need to provide pastoral support has become more obvious since the pandemic, with an increased focus on physical and emotional welfare.
• Is London keeping up with the best PBSA offerings across the world? In recent years, probably yes, but quantity is still not sufficient to meet the strong demand from students (especially from overseas).
• The sector fundamentals remain as convincing as ever - relative market stability, high occupancy, steady income, low supply...and a swift/strong bounce-back after the pandemic showcases this well.
• There's a continued drive to consolidation and institutionalisation of the sector, with lenders preferring portfolio diversification. 
• The impact of the current market headwinds will likely take several months to show - with the cost of debt increasing sharply, there will be pressure on yields to soften.