Custom Built Student Accommodation Supply In London Not Meeting Demands

The constant shortfall in student accommodation in London has been consistently above the national average for nearly a decade, with the equivalent now coming up to 2.6 people for one bed in the capital, as per the latest London student news. The student accommodation shortage in London is also posing as a hurdle for many students, as the shortage of beds are leading to delays in moving to start studying in their preferred institutions. 

The real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield recently looked at the student-to-bed ratio between the academic years 2013/14 and 2023/24. This study pointed to numerous challenges driving investors away from the student accommodation industry in London, which include high financing costs and planning hurdles. Cushman & Wakefield calculated a 2.6:1 figure for London for the most recent year, i.e., 2023/24, compared to the UK average of 2.1:1, which was the same for the 12 previous months.  As compared to the last London student news,, London student accommodation got better than the national figure in  2013/14, with the average being 2.3:1 compared with 2.4:1 respectively. 

The growing student numbers tied with the limited development in student accommodation in London is also leading to supply issues in the student housing market, which in turn is leading to an increased reliance on the private rental accommodation sector. Andrew Smith, the head of UK student accommodation for Cushman & Wakefield, has anticipated that developers and buyers might look at the industry more in 2024.  

Andrew also told Yahoo Finance that “Development of purpose-built student accommodation has not kept pace with demand, but as we start to see more stability in finance rates and inflation, we expect investor appetite and transactional volumes to grow significantly throughout 2024.”

The Sabbatical officer at the Arts SU, Sophia Nasif, told Yahoo Finance that “There just isn't enough housing to go around in London, including for student-only accommodation, such as halls of residence (which is only open to certain groups of students anyway, such as first years). The renters market is extremely competitive.” 

Sophia also said, “Students are competing to access the same limited housing as professionals, and are often unsuccessful due to comparative lack of income, guarantors or even knowledge/experience.” as reported by Yahoo Finance. Don’t forget to follow Amber Newsroom to get more such updates. If you are a student accommodation provider, you can list your property with us on our website.