Amber Beat: Global Student Accommodation Market News - February 2024, Week 02

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 February 02-February 08

United Kingdom

• Greenwich Council approves construction of a 36-storey, 820-room student accommodation tower on Peninsula Street, 35% of which will provide affordable options for students (1)
• Yorkshire's Urbanite Living lists a £130M portfolio of five PBSA assets, with 999 beds, across Leeds, York, Sheffield, and Glasgow for sale (2)
• Manchester City Council approves the University of Manchester’s Fallowfield Campus student housing redevelopment, adding 3,300 rooms and expanding the supply of total beds to 5,400 (3)
• Deloitte’s regional crane survey reported 8,200 student bedrooms under construction across Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester in 2023, marking a 40% increase from 2022 (4)
• Livin Cardiff student accommodation scheme in Cardiff, featuring 136 student bedrooms, sold for £13M by Knight Frank and Lewis & Partners (5)
• Southampton's former NatWest Bank transformed into 100 studio flats for university students (6)

United States of America

• CBRE brokers the sale of ‘Social 28’, a 592-bed student housing facility near the University of Florida, Gainesville to Nimes Real Estate for an undisclosed amount(7)
• Amber reveals key insights in latest "US International Student Housing Annual Report 2023-24", estimating market valuation of US student housing at $17.6 billion, with 1.4 active international students contributing $40 billion to the US economy in 2023-24 (8)
• UCSB in Saint Barabara, unveils plans for ‘San Benito Housing’, a student housing facility consisting of 2250+ beds with construction scheduled to begin in 2025 and conclude by Fall 2027(9)
• HH Fund secures $65 million to refinance ‘Nine East 33rd’, a 568-bed student housing property located near Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus in Baltimore(10)
• Mediplex Property Group concludes the construction of a 5-story student housing project, comprising 365 beds, located adjacent to Albright College, Reading(11)
• ‘Sleep Inn & Suites’, a 72-room hotel located near Arizona State University to be replaced by a 7-story student housing complex comprising 479 bedrooms(12)

Australia

• The Switch receives an approval to turn a 15-story facility into a student accommodation adding 27 beds for a total of 499 beds (13)
• Bonard report unveils 7.9% surge in Australian rent rate, posing financial strain on international students with weekly costs doubling to A$300, leaving only A$13 for living expenses(14)

Europe

• Hines student accommodation in Dublin, Ireland, extends leases to 51 weeks, resulting in a 27% price hike for AY 2024-2025, students face increased costs of €13,620 compared to €10,660 this year(15)
• University of Limerick, Ireland, faces planning scrutiny over controversial student accommodation purchase in Rhebogue, council questions planning permission for 20-property development (16)
• Leonrodplatz Shopping Center in Munich, Germany to be replaced by 64 student apartments and retail spaces by Stadtsparkasse, plans 2-year redevelopment with reduced rents, responding to urgent housing needs (17)
• Utrecht, Netherlands, faces student housing crisis as plan for 700 new homes at IBB delayed until 2030, conflicts between Municipality and SSH spark concerns (18)
• Major student dormitory project set to begin in Wrocław, Poland, with over 300 rooms planned to be built in a joint venture by Develia and CEE Student Housing Fund, construction set to begin in 2024-25, and completed by AY 2026 (19)
• GrandLyon Habitat implements innovative elevation operation to provide 70 student accommodations, costing €9.3 million, expected to conclude by end of 2024 (20)

Canada

• University of the Fraser Valley breaks ground for $82.3M 398-bed student housing residence in Abbotsford campus, to be completed by Summer 2025 (21)
• Nova Scotia establishes new one-year funding agreements with 10 universities to limit tuition hikes for undergraduate students and increase student housing development across Halifax and Cape Breton institutions (22)

Sources: ( (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22))