The 2021 outlook for purpose-built student accommodation
“Players in the UK, Ireland and Australia have focused on expanding their reach and strengthening their property portfolio”
Prior to the pandemic disrupting businesses across the globe, student housing had been witnessing an impressive growth each year, writes University Living founder and CEO Saurabh Arora.
When universities and other educational institutions closed, it was expected that the accommodation sector would take some of the heat. Investment in this particular asset class has been driven mainly by market potential and in 2020, during the first few months alone, nearly $10 billion was spent on the sector as per data from Real Capital Analytics.
Roughly eight months into the pandemic, investments in the student housing industry dropped considerably, although operations were in full swing across select markets around the world. Because of this, there is still that confidence that can be observed across the international market, especially in the UK and Ireland.