Knight Frank clarified the requirement for student accommodation in 2011 as ‘booming’ in the Student Accommodation report (May 2011). In there most up-to-date analysis, there is still an extended requirement anticipated. The real estate monster have recorded that the UK student accommodation property investment market will carry on thriving in 2012 – as the market continues to benefit from “strong requirement and lack of stock”. It is estimated that the need in London could fill another 100,000 student addresses. 

CBRE have stated virtually £840m of capital was pledged to investment and development in the UK’s student and accommodation division in 2011. This quantity is more than double that of £350m in capital dedicated in 2009. Knight Frank’s most recent Student Property publication suggestst that student accommodation returns have increased two fold in September 2011 to fifteen point one percent.

It is also thought that the future University fee make-up structure will only increase demand for student accommodation at the most renowned Institutions. Where there are a large number of commercially valuable course places. Whilst Student Property in the vicinity of Universitites that provide non-economically viable degrees will be troubled the most due to a lack of requirement. A list of the top 20 Universities to take into account when buying student property can be found within Knight Franks Student Property Document entitled – The Student Property Index. 

The enlargement in the Student Accommodation market is said to be supported by housing with rents of less than £220 a week. This statement is supported by the fact that houses within this price bracket are signed most quickly – revealing the largest level of desire. 

Revenue in the rest of the UK decreased from fourteen point six percent in Sept 2010 – to 10.5% in September 2011. Knight Frank encourages investing in student property that is; located in regional settlements, within a high student population concentration, near more than one universities. This makes student housing in Birmingham a preferable candidate. 

Documents by both Knight Frank & CBRE suggest that education is an increasingly global marketplace. The percentage of student from abroad increased five fold from 1975 to 2008. This figure is estimated to increase two fold again by 2025. The perseverance of this shift is underpinned by the declining value of GBP – meaning that it is getting cheaper for overseas students to study here, and the fact that the UK has 5 of the Worlds top twenty Higher Educational Institutions.

CBRE anticipates that the restructuring of higher education fees will remould the make-up of the student population, opposed to throwing it into decline. Overseas students will play an increasingly important role in the reconstruction of the student composition, resulting in foreign student numbers that are expected to increase by an average of 3-6%. 

In conclusion, student accommodation in London and localities that can be identified by the variables above could facilitate the investment opportunity you have been looking for.