Amber Beat: Global Student Accommodation Market News - April 2025, Week 03

About Amber Beat

Missed keeping track of all the latest happenings in the student accommodation market?

Amber Beat is a weekly snapshot of the key developments in top student accommodation markets.  This newsletter provides you with all the information you need to know, from new upcoming projects to current trends, news affecting students to government policies, we’ve got you covered!

Amber Beat | News from April 11-17, 2025

United Kingdom

• UK Visa applications drop 37% to 772,200 in year to March 2025; declines seen across work, study, and family visas (Source)
• IHEC urges resilient UK international HE strategy as overseas student numbers surpass 2030 target; calls for policy stability (Source)
• Landmark IHEC Report calls for strategic reform to secure future of international higher education, highlights need for £5M investment and diversified recruitment (Source)
• Lovell Park site in Leeds hits the market with potential for 1,446 PBSA units and Build-to-Rent Homes (Source)
• CVC DIF's Ottoway Portfolio adds 750 beds in Scotland, expanding student housing network to over 5,000 beds nationwide (Source)
• Greystar’s 770-bed Canvas Wembley PBSA tops out, nearing completion with sustainable features and unique amenities (Source)
• HGP Investment in Cardiff PBSA pushes equity commitment past £500m, with 310-bed Trafalgar House Development underway (Source)
• £70M St Vincent Studios PBSA in Glasgow takes shape with 321 studio apartments across 16 floors, set for summer 2026 completion (Source)
• 706-bed student housing development tops out in Bristol’s Silverthorne Lane Regeneration (Source)
• CBRE projects a 620,000 UK PBSA bed shortfall by 2025 amid surging demand and a shift toward joint ventures (Source)
• BLME provides £45m financing for two Urbium Capital PBSA schemes in York and Nottingham, including 293-unit Arcadian Development (Source)
• £200M Gresham Regeneration Scheme in Middlesbrough approved, including 400+ student beds (Source)
• Unite Students tops out £59M Burnet Point PBSA in Edinburgh, featuring 298 student rooms & 17 affordable units to meet growing demand (Source)

United States of America

• Florida Tech breaks ground on $96.1M, 556-bed housing with 149 units in Melbourne, set to open August 2026 at Babcock St. & University Blvd. (Source)
• Landmark launches $10B pipeline with new 397-bed The Mark Fort Collins and 678-bed Purdue housing projects in 2025 (Source)
• Trump administration freezes $2.2B in grants to Harvard over rejected DEI and international student screening demands (Source)
• JMU hikes tuition by 2%, adds $664 in annual costs, dissolves DEI division, and introduces tiered housing rates in Harrisonburg, VA (Source)
• Byline Bank backs $23.5M renovation of 553-bed The Edge Student Housing in San Marcos, set for 2025-26 school year (Source)
• Embry-Riddle begins $90M student housing and aviation facility projects in Prescott, adding 300 beds and 75 suites (Source)
• Morehead State University reopens $10.8M, 177-bed Cooper Hall after major renovation, ready for students in August 2025 in Morehead, Kentucky (Source)
• UCSB’s 2,224-bed San Benito student housing project in Santa Barbara approved, set for fall 2027 completion with 7 buildings near Mesa and Stadium Roads (Source)
• UMaine addresses housing shortage with 62-bed reconfiguration and off-campus expansion in Orono, Maine, as enrollment grows 13% (Source)
• Pima Community College to demolish 3 historic hotels on Drachman Street for student housing expansion, purchased for $3.5M (Source)
• Nova Scotia invests $3M in 24-unit student housing project at Gaelic College’s Mabou campus, construction underway with January 2026 completion target (Source)

Australia

• Australia saw record-breaking 197,000 international students in February 2024, a 7.3% jump from pre-pandemic levels as per data by ABS, amid rising migration tensions ahead of federal election in May 2025 (Source)
• Australia’s proposed cap of 115,000 public university international enrolments and higher visa fees, especially for Go8, could hit Indian students hardest, affecting revenue and appeal as preferred HE destination (Source)
• Following 125% hike in July 2024, Coalition proposes raising student visa fees up to AUD $5,000, fearing 50% drop in applications, especially from Indian students eyeing Go8 universities (Source)
• Brookfield and Citiplan have completed their first PBSA in Melbourne CBD, delivered in 19 months, nearly 3 months early using prefabricated construction methods (Source)

Canada

• Canadian universities see surge in US applications as Trump slashes funding and revokes student visas, with UBC Vancouver reporting 27% rise in 2025 graduate applicants (Source)
• Canada rejects over 2.35 million temporary visa applications in 2024 amid tightened immigration policies (Source)
• Camosun College begins $154.7M, 423-bed student housing project at Lansdowne campus in Oak Bay, set to open in fall 2027 (Source)
• York College to break ground on 204-bed expansion at Northside Commons, set to complete by June 2026 (Source)
• New Brunswick allocates $1.1M for student housing studies at UNB and UdeM campuses in Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton, Edmundston, and Shippagan (Source)
• University College of the North to invest $2 million in student housing project in Flin Flon, set to open Fall 2025 (Source)

Europe

• Ireland raises financial requirement for visa-free students by up to 120%; €10,000 minimum now needed for long-term courses (Source)
• Merkel Capital opens 500-room student residence-hotel in Seville to meet growing demand, with Over 24,500 students seeking accommodation (Source)
• Inbest GPF Socimi acquires 30% stake in €400M María de Molina 50 project in Spain, set to include 400-bed student residence and 153 luxury apartments (Source)
• Major 600-bed student housing development approved at Coolough Road, Ireland, amid local protests (Source)
• New student residence with 120 subsidized studios and integrated services to open in 2026 in France's Saint-Exupéry District (Source)