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

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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 November 15-November 21, 2025

United Kingdom

• UK tightens education-migration rules, student maintenance rises 3.1%, Graduate route cut to 18 months, with 12,000-visa drop and £50M revenue loss projected under 2025 reforms (Source)
• University of Manchester VC warns 6% levy will “hurt the sector” as analysts estimate £600M annual losses and note enrolment of 10,000 international students from 160+ countries (Source)
• UK warned of ‘shutting out a generation of talent’ as international student visa demand remains far below 2023 levels and new 18-month Graduate route limits loom (Source)
• Business groups urge Chancellor Rachel Reeves to scrap proposed 6% international student levy, warning first-year impact of over £100M loss for regions including London (£480M) and Scotland (£197M) (Source)
• Knight Frank reports UK PBSA investment surpassing £50B, with a record £1.83B in Q3 2025 and year-to-date volumes up 3% to £3.4B (Source)
• ASU launches ASU London, a UK-accredited campus offering new engineering, business and tech degrees, plus 4-year dual-degree pathway that enables graduates to work in both UK and US (Source)
• University of Worcester wins £2.49M to expand midwifery and paramedic simulation labs, total £10.5M secured across 3 rounds to benefit nearly 3,000 students (Source)
• Vita secures £146M Eldridge loan for 861-bed First Street PBSA in Manchester, part of £1.1B partnership, completion targeted for 2028 (Source)
• Dominus wins approval for revised 31-storey Stratford tower in London, delivering 692 student beds with 35% at affordable rent after rejection of initial 34-storey plan (Source)
• Leicester approves City Group St Nicholas Circle PBSA with 123 beds across 106 studio and cluster units (Source)
• Lexington council blocks 322-unit, 8-story student housing project in Aylesford in an 8–7 vote despite warnings of a 23,000-unit housing deficit and nearly 1,000 beds lost (Source)

United States of America

• US hits record 1.18M international students in 2024–25 even as total enrolment slips 1%, undergrads rise 2%, grads fall 12%, and 57% of institutions see fewer new students, 14% stable, and 29% report increases (Source)
• Chinese students in the US drop 4% to 265K amid visa delays, while Indian enrolment rises 9% to 363K, both groups contribute over $14B, IIE data shows (Source)
• US colleges see 17% plunge in new international enrolment, IIE Fall snapshot shows, with 96% of institutions citing visa delays and denials as top drivers (Source)
• As Friday’s deadline nears, Trump’s higher-ed compact sees almost no uptake, with only 3 of ~6,000 US colleges interested, while Oregon universities say they won’t sign (Source)
• Senator Warren leads push to halt discussions on selling $1.6T federal student loan portfolio, as 40+ lawmakers warn it could weaken borrower protections and increase taxpayer risk (Source)
• Yugo appointed to manage Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing-GSA US student housing portfolio of 6,200 beds across eight Tier One assets, expanding its managed portfolio to 86 properties and 40,000 beds in 29 states and 58 cities (Source)
• University of Miami unveils 1,458-bed Gables Village, a two-tower upper-class student housing complex set to replace Mahoney-Pearson in 2026 and open in Fall 2028 (Source)
• UCLA to build 19-story, 310,000 sq-ft student housing tower for 1,150 students, replacing 42 existing units, construction may start in 2026 and wrap by 2030 (Source)
• Lincoln acquires Capstone, strengthening its on-campus housing platform with 30+ years of development experience and a $4B higher-education portfolio (Source)
• Starkville city approves tax break for $45M Sandcreek project featuring 100-room hotel and 504-bed student housing (Source)

Australia

• Australia records all-time high of 495,652 international university students in 2024, making up 32.7% of total enrolments (Source)
• Australia’s Home Affairs issues integrity alert to student-visa holders after detecting exploitation risk in education provider sector (Source)
• Industry groups urge clarity as they submit responses to the Senate review of Australia’s 2025 Integrity Bill amid broader reforms impacting international students (Source)
• Australian higher-education attainment dips for first time since 2016; Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows share of young adults with bachelor’s or higher degrees falls by 0.5% (Source)
• Australia’s student accommodation pipeline expands by 40,000 beds, with privately owned and managed PBSA beds surpassing 90,000 and national total of 134K student-only beds, including on-campus and college accommodations (Source)
• Australia’s CEFC commits under a $50M to electrify Scape’s 17,000-bed PBSA portfolio, removing gas infrastructure across major cities (Source)
• Australia emerges as a top study-abroad choice due to academic excellence, industry integration, work rights, and support for international students (Source)

Canada

• ApplyBoard forecasts 54% drop in Canada student visas for 2025 as compared to 2024, 18% in the US, while Germany (set to exceed 400K international students), France, and Spain gain as housing and employment become priorities (Source)
• Canada slashes study permits for Indian students by ~60% in 2025, with just 62,460 issued through August and new student arrivals falling by over 132,000 (Source)
• Canada is losing international students to Europe and Asia as tighter visa rules and caps make countries like Germany and France more attractive (Source)
• Canada has the world’s highest concentration of top-10 universities in QS’s 2026 sustainability rankings, with University of Toronto at #2, University of British Council at #5, and McGill and others featured (Source)
• Canada issues only ~80,000 study permits in 2025 (vs 437,000 cap), triggering 60% of universities to predict budget cuts amid global student-shifting trends (Source)
• Tighter Canadian visa scrutiny sends Indian student approvals plunging, rejection rate surges from 32% in 2023 to 74% in August 2025 (Source)
• Ontario invests CA$83M via the Building Ontario Fund to build a 21-storey TMU residence at 100 Bond St, adding ~1,400 affordable student beds (Source)

Europe

• NAFSA-Oxford-Studyportals survey records global enrolment shifts with sharp drops in Canada (82%) and US (48%) as Asia (36%), Europe (43%) and UK (42%) report growth (Source)
• Germany, Dubai, Ireland, Japan & Netherlands emerge as top new destinations as Indian student numbers abroad hit 1.8M in 2025 (up as compared to 1.3M in 2023) (Source)
• European universities gain share in global student mobility as US and Canada experience steep international enrolment drops: Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey by NAFSA (Source)
• Many top universities, including France’s Sorbonne and India’s IITs, are boycotting global rankings over concerns about flawed, non-transparent methodology (Source)
• Dutch universities see 5% drop in international student enrolments amid tightening visa & housing pressures (Source)
• Georgian universities may collapse under reforms as plans to cut degree lengths, restrict international students, and shut down faculties spark academic backlash (Source)
• Kajima Properties Europe completes 405-bed PBSA expansion in Poznań, Poland, launched at 93%+ occupancy ahead of schedule (Source)
• €70M Barcelona student housing scheme with 265 beds hits market, highlighting rising PBSA demand (Source)
• Study Inn wins Property Week’s Health & Wellbeing Award for its wellness-focused PBSA, as it recently reported a 95% occupancy in October ‘25 (Source)
• Germany enrolments jump ~50%, New Zealand rises 70%, while France, Netherlands & Poland gain popularity, as Indian students reconsider US/Canada (Source)