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The latest news and events at Maples Teesdale

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Students don’t want a concierge and a cinema, they want cheap rooms

Interesting article in Estates Gazette on student accommodation. Student numbers are up to record highs for the third year in a row, and there appears to be a buzz in the industry about building student accommodation again. However, it’s important to look more closely at these figures to extrapolate what should be built.

Brexit meant new EU students have faced higher fees since 2021. The number of EU students starting full-time undergraduate courses fell by 65% between 2020 and 2022 to its lowest level since 1994. It appears that students now increasingly fall into two camps; the wealthy international student, and the domestic student.

It is becoming clear that developers have been focusing on the former, and domestic students are not able to afford the swankier student accommodation provided in recent years. They don’t want a concierge and a cinema, they want cheap rooms. Estate agents are reporting queues for the cheapest rooms on their books, while the expensive stuff sits empty.

You will have seen the news: students queuing outside estate agents looking for homes as there simply aren’t enough beds. Except, the last bit isn’t true. There are beds, but most of those available are too expensive for the mainstream market and the queues are for a very specific product – a cheap one.

Tags

student accommodation, estates gazette, planning, robin barnes, strategic land, pbsa, student housing