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

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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 July 11 - July 17, 2025

United Kingdom

• PBSA leaders managing over 150,000 beds convene to address 2025-26 strategy, budgeting, and operational challenges across the UK and Europe (Source)
• UK’s Agent Quality Framework sets new standards for agent training amid tripling of international student numbers since 2000, after revised immigration strategy (Source)
• Torsion’s 5-storey Between Towns Road PBSA in Oxford reaches structural halfway point, set to deliver 189 student bedrooms by 2026 (Source)
• Urbium Capital & Gregory Property Group’s new PBSA development at Foss Islands Road, York progresses toward June 2026 completion, set to deliver 133 student beds across 5 storeys (Source)
• HG Living’s PBSA scheme in Kennington Lane, London makes strong progress, bringing 185 student beds in ISH’s first-ever new build in its 60-year history (Source)
• Watkin Jones unveils Venti House PBSA in Stratford with 397 student beds, set to open for the 2026-27 academic year (Source)
• Belfast’s first Passivhaus-certified PBSA, Weavers’ Hall, reached full height at 16 storeys and will deliver 459 student bedrooms; expected completion in 2026 (Source)
• Centurion launches S$1.8B REIT with 14 assets, including 9 PBSA properties in UK and Australia; portfolio to grow to S$2.1B by 2026 (Source)
• Clark Contracts completes £30M Edinburgh PBSA with 257 beds using modular build, marking over 1,400 student beds delivered in 3 years (Source)
• Stelling Properties advances £20M Southampton PBSA project with 257 beds, secures key pre-construction approval (Source)
• Savills markets fully let 124-bed Cadnam Hall PBSA in Birmingham for £12.7M, offering 6.5% yield and £883K forecasted NOI for 2025-26 (Source)
• Mapletree plans UK-focused £500M student housing fund, expands $5.3B PBSA portfolio with 29,000 beds and £1B UK-Germany acquisition (Source)
• Vita unveils plans for 566-bed PBSA on Nottingham’s Shakespeare Street, including an 18-storey block and refurbishment of Grade II listed buildings (Source)

United States of America

• Trump signs bill introducing new $250 ‘visa integrity fee’ for non-immigrant U.S. visas; Indian students, tourists, and tech workers may face doubled visa costs starting January 2026 (Source)
• US colleges brace for 2025 international enrolment decline as May visa approvals drop 22% and 176 students exit post-SEVIS revocation (Source)
• Trump administration limits visas for Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria to single-entry, 3-month terms, raising concerns over student and travel impact to the U.S. (Source)
• DHS corrects data error, reveals 6.5% rise in 2023-24 international student enrollment to 1.29M across U.S. institutions, overturning previous 200K shortfall (Source)
• International student interest in U.S. STEM drops sharply as engineering searches fall 41% and $34.8B economic contribution faces risk amid Trump-era visa policies (Source)
• U.S. colleges could lose $3B as three-quarters of institutions expect drop in international enrollment; FT estimates $900M tuition hit if 10% decline occurs (Source)
• US Embassy India warns students: visa can be revoked post-approval amid Trump-era crackdowns on overstays, activism, and legal violations (Source)
• ACC to break ground on 898-bed student housing project near UCF in Orlando, slated for 2027 completion with studio to 5-bedroom units and Fitwel certification (Source)
• WFI acquires The Bridges (210 units) and The Knoll (101 units) near University of Minnesota for $36M; $1.55M in upgrades planned for Dinkytown student housing portfolio (Source)
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges acquire 53-unit Geneva Gardens in Geneva to house 100+ students by Fall 2026, with renovations planned near campus and arts facilities (Source)
• Tufts University breaks ground on 664-bed, 271K-sq-ft student housing project in Medford, set to open Fall 2027 (Source)
• Gilbane, Stavroff begin construction on 655-bed, 277-unit MXWL near University of Kentucky; six-story Lexington project set to open by Fall 2027 (Source)
• Development Ventures Group breaks ground on $94.9M, 177-unit, 631-bed student housing project at 3501 Quadrangle Blvd. near UCF in Orlando, set to open in Summer 2027 (Source)
• TSB Realty arranges sale of 543-bed, 172-unit The Indy near Kennesaw State in Marietta, Georgia; student housing community delivered in 2020 and fully occupied at time of sale (Source)
• Bilt raises $250M at $10.75B valuation to scale rewards platform across housing, student living, and mortgages; new Bilt Card 2.0 launches Feb 2026 (Source)
• Cameron University freezes 2025–26 tuition, housing, and fees in southwest Oklahoma; 4% hike in meal plans approved to offset food service costs (Source)

Australia

• Australia raises subclass 500 student visa fee to AUD 2,000 from July 1, up from AUD 1,600, with work hours capped at 48 per fortnight during study sessions (Source)
• ELICOS visa grants fall nearly 50% as Australia’s English language sector urges greater recognition of its $11.7B global contribution (Source)
• Scape’s The Living Company acquires $32M Waterloo site for 300-unit student housing tower near Green Square, Sydney (Source)
• Post-election stability boosts Australia's PBSA sector with 11,820 beds under construction and 36,424 in the national pipeline as investor confidence rebounds (Source)
• Mapletree eyes Australian student housing market as part of global PBSA expansion, following £1B acquisition of 31 UK and Germany assets and plans for £500M UK fund (Source)
• Centurion launches 732-room Epiisod Macquarie Park student housing project in Sydney, to open by Semester 1, 2026 (Source)
• $400M, 1002-bed student housing tower approved at 88 North Terrace in Adelaide, construction to begin in Jan 2026 and complete by April 2028 (Source)

Canada

• Canadian colleges lay off 10,000 staff as Ontario institutions face funding crisis due to fall in Indian student enrolment; OPSEU urges urgent investment to stabilise sector (Source)
• Windsor rental market cools as fewer international students arrive; new 238-unit Rodzik Hall at University of Windsor to open September 2025 (Source)
• Foreign student cuts prompt Vancouver universities to sublease over 170K sq. ft. of office space, including Global University Systems and University Canada West listings (Source)
• Centurion opens 156-unit Parkview Valley Apartments in Kelowna; full 401-unit project set to boost rental housing across five mid-rise buildings (Source)
• Mohawk College closes Linden Hall residence in downtown Hamilton after housing just 52 students on average in 2024–25, despite capacity for 300, citing drop in international enrolments (Source)

Europe

• Besix Red and Promiris to develop 2,000 student beds across Spain and Portugal, first PBSA project to begin in September 2026 (Source)
• Greystar enters Denmark with a 1,758-bed PBSA portfolio acquisition across Copenhagen, marking its 8th European market expansion (Source)
• Besix Red and Promiris to develop 2,000-bed PBSA portfolio across Spain and Portugal by 2028, first project to begin in September 2026 (Source)
• Marten to add 61 new student apartments at the eastern entrance, with construction starting in summer 2025 and completion by 2027 (Source)