The growth of student accommodation as an asset class in Australia

Global student accommodation

Student accommodation has become a global asset class in its own right. The three main factors driving the growth of global student accommodation are:

• the increase in the global mobility of students;
• global operator appetite is emerging, as key management platforms seek to generate international student accommodation brands; and
• global investor appetite is growing with institutions seeking to diversify portfolios outside of the US and the UK, and this phenomenon is an example of how they are seeking investment in real assets.

While the demand for purpose-built student accommodation in Australia is rising, the Australian student accommodation market is immature in comparison to the market in the US and the UK.