Knight Frank described the need for student accommodation in 2011 as ‘booming’ in the Student Property report (May 2011). In there latest study, there is still a continued demand forecast. The letting agency giant have recorded that the UK student accommodation property investment market will continue to grow in 2012 – as the sector continues to benefit from “strong demand and lack of supply”. It is estimated that the need in London could gratify another 100,000 student rooms. 

CBRE have recorded that virtually £840m of capital was sworn to investment and development in the United Kingdom’s student and accommodation division in 2011. This quantity is larger than double that of £350m in capital devoted in 2009. Knight Frank’s most recent Student Property broadcast estimates that student property returns have doubled in September 2011 to fifteen point one percent.

It is also thought that the new University fee formation structure will only increase requirement for student accommodation at the most prestigious Institutions. Where there are a great deal of commercially valuable course places. Whilst Student Property in the vicinity of Universitites that provide non-commercially viable qualifications will be affected the most due to a lack of requirement. A list of the top twenty Institutions to review when purchasing student property can be found within Knight Franks Student Property Publication entitled – The Student Property Index. 

The enlargement in the Student Accommodation sector is stated to be supported by housing with rents of less than two hundred and twenty pounds a week. This statement is supported by the fact that beds within this price bracket are taken most quickly – suggesting the biggest level of requirement. 

Revenue in the rest of the UK decreased from fourteen point six percent in Sept 2010 – to 10.5% in September 2011. Knight Frank recommends investing in student property that is; located in regional towns, within a high student population concentration, near more than one universities. This makes student accommodation in Birmingham a suitable candidate. 

Publication by both Knight Frank & CBRE identify that education is an increasingly global marketplace. The proportion of overseas students rose five fold from 1975 to 2008. This number is anticipated to double again by 2025. The continuation of this movement is underpinned by the falling value of GBP – this means that it is getting cheaper for overseas students to study here, and the fact that the UK has 5 of the Worlds top 20 Higher Educational Institutions.

CBRE anticipates that the reconstruction of higher education course charges will remould the composition of the student population, opposed to throwing it into decline. Overseas students will play an increasingly important role in the restructuring of the student composition, resulting in international student numbers that are expected to increase by an average of three to six percent. 

All in all, student property in London and the surrounding areas that can be identified by the variables above could provide the investment opening you have been waiting for.