Amber Beat: Global Student Accommodation Market News - July 2025, Week 05

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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 31 - August 06, 2025

United Kingdom

• UK mandates eVisas from July 15 for international students and skilled workers, replacing passport stickers with digital records (Source)
• Unite Students reports 15% rise in adjusted earnings to £144.2M, boosted by 97% occupancy and 10,000-bedroom development pipeline (Source)
• Olympian completes 275-bed Rialto House PBSA in York, marking £50M project delivery with Cain International and GMI Construction (Source)
• Goldman Sachs and Generation Partners acquire 435-bed Portswood House PBSA in Southampton for £86m, following £110m UK student housing deal in January (Source)
• London PBSA crisis deepens as BSR delays stall 3,000+ student beds, with only 100,000 units for 400,000 students (Source)
• Avison Young launches Leeds PBSA JV opportunity amid 2.75:1 student-to-bed ratio and demand from 46,945 students for just 117,079 beds (Source)
• Ballymore and Places for London secure approval for £1.7B Edgware redevelopment with 3,365 homes, 463 PBSA beds, and 1,150 affordable units (Source)

United States of America

• US tightens visa rules: In-person interviews mandatory from Sept 2 for most non-immigrant applicants, including under-14 and over-79 age groups (Source)
• Visa delays derail international student travel ahead of Fall 2024 semester, risking $44B economic impact and prompting urgent calls for action from U.S. for Success Coalition (Source)
• Trump administration eyes H-1B visa changes to prioritize higher salaries; USCIS plans tougher citizenship test under new director Joseph Edlow (Source)
• Trump's new visa policy prompts international students to wipe social media; UC Berkeley’s I-House reports 40% drop in Indian, Chinese enrolment in 2025 (Source)
• Trump administration targets universities in multifront crackdown on foreign students, tightening visa rules, DACA aid, and post-study work options (Source)
• State Department launches probe into Harvard’s J-1 visa use amid ongoing $2B funding freeze and visa revocation threats under Trump administration (Source)
• Georgia Tech’s $117M Curran Street Residence Hall tops out in Atlanta, to offer 862 beds by August 2026 (Source)
• Kidder Mathews brokers $14M sale of 129-unit LEV Apartments in Reno, 98% leased student housing near University of Nevada (Source)
• Morgan State unveils 3.3-acre Enolia Apartments in Baltimore after 3 years, first private off-campus housing in 20+ years (Source)
• Vesper Holdings and Fortress recapitalize 248-unit, 463-bed Hawks Pointe student housing near University of Kansas; upgrade plans include clubhouse and amenity revamp (Source)
• Texas State expands support as on-campus housing serves just 10K of 40K+ students, only 16% undergrads live on campus (Source)
• TSB Realty closes sale of 543-bed The Indy student housing project with 172 units in Marietta, Georgia; delivered in 2020 near Kennesaw State University (Source)
• Green Street acquires College House to expand U.S. student housing analytics; enhances property-level data coverage in fast-growing sector (Source)
• Castle Lanterra and DEVEN Group to develop $93.21M, 631-bed student housing project at 3525 Quadrangle Boulevard near UCF, slated for Q2 2027 completion (Source)
• Core Spaces plans 719-bed Hub in downtown Fayetteville; current tenants offered $10K to relocate, first pick of 2028 units (Source)
• Fort Leavenworth housing partner awards $303K in scholarships to 31 residents in 2025 through Michaels Educational Foundation (Source)

Australia

• Australia mulls halving $2,000 student visa fee for short-term programs after sector warnings of closures, with changes possible by Jan 2026 (Source)
• Scape tops out 523-apartment Lachlan PBSA in Sydney’s KeKi precinct, with 18- and 9-storey towers set to open in early 2026 (Source)
• RBA finds students added $50bn in 2023–24, drove half of 2022–23 migration, but raised rents by just 0.5% (Source)
• 400K rise in student visas since COVID may exceed RBA’s rental demand estimates, with half renting privately (Source)
• Mirvac Opens Brisbane’s First BTR Under QLD Pilot: 396 Units via A$1.8B JV with Mitsubishi Estate Asia, CEFC & QLD Govt (Source)

Canada

• Canada sees sharper international student decline in 2025 as Indian visa approvals fall to 28%, global interest dips, and Algeria-Ghana rates hit 6% and 5% (Source)
• IRCC backlog climbs 5.02% to 842,800 despite study permit progress, with 415,800 permanent resident applications, 379,600 temporary resident applications, and 19% of citizenship grants pending (Source)
• Canada confirms audit into international student programme as Indian permits fall 31% in Q1 2025 (Source)

Europe

• Rockfield to invest €53M in two new Madrid student residences with 300 beds, opening in 2027 (Source)
• Uxco Group adds 1,300 new PBSA beds in France, expanding portfolio to over 15,000 across 75+ residences (Source)
• Trieste adds 226 new student beds with €50M+ public investment to expand university housing by 2027 (Source)
• Plans for 957-bed student accommodation on former Magdalene laundry site in Cork put on hold amid community objections (Source)