Student Accommodation – The Suite Life

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Surging tertiary enrolments. Australia remains one of the most popular destinations in the world for tertiary students. The number of international enrolments neared a million students in 2023. Given recent inflows, Australia is well positioned to exceed that mark in 2024.

Stellar student housing demand. This accelerating pace of student inflows is adding significantly to housing demand, particularly for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) facilities within major capital cities and around top-tier tertiary education hubs.

Not enough supply. In the face of this relentless demand, the pace of student housing supply is lagging clearly, curtailed by tough competition from other residential developers, strict planning constraints and the small number of operating partners in this sector.

Living your best life. With robust demographic tailwinds in Australia, and lingering challenges for many commercial sectors, the living sector is shaping up as a very attractive destination for investor capital for this cycle, with student housing sitting squarely in this frame.

A better yield for living. Compared to build-to-sell and build-to-rent strategies, student accommodation in Australia is delivering relatively stronger and more resilient income yields, while drawing on the same buoyant structural drivers as the broader living sector.

Greater regulatory focus. While student numbers may change for cyclical or policy reasons in 2025, the persistent undersupply of suitable housing remains in place. Policymakers continue to see additional student accommodation supply as a key part of the solution.

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